Return of the High Elves
by Virusgod
Summary: Finished Reposted Two months had passed since Harry Potter was last seen. Now he returns, trained and armed for war...and with pointy ears?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, do you really think I'd be doing this for free?

AUTHORS NOTE: This is being reposted. It got deleted for the most retarded reason. It just bugs me cause I lost the 1400 reviews I had. Not because it looked good with that many, but because I liked to go back and read them now and again. sigh.

Anyway, this is a completed story. The epilogue is the only new part since it was deleted. I didn't bother to re-write anything. I'm too lazy and too bummed out in general about the situation. The writing gets better later on, the early chapters were...a while ago.

**Chapter 1: Hogwart's Express, and the Feast**

Ginny Weasley was boarding the Hogwarts Express with her brother Ron Weasley, and his girlfriend Hermione Granger, and she was depressed. In the weeks before Harry's disappearance, they had been exchanging owls on a regular basis, as she tried to convince him that Sirius's death was not his fault. She believed that they had truly been connecting on a more intimate level when he had vanished. There had been no sign of struggle at the Dursley's, no sign of violence. Harry Potter had simply vanished.

She didn't know why she had hoped he would be there at King's Cross that day, after all, no one had heard from him in over a month, and almost the entire wizarding world considered him dead. The Ministry of Magic had even held a large funeral for the Boy-who-Lived. Still, somewhere deep in her heart, she knew he was still alive. She always hoped he would return. She glanced around the platform one last time, hoping for a glimpse of raven hair, and green eyes, but she didn't see him. He wasn't there.

"C'mon Ginny, hurry up, you do want a compartment don't you?" said her brother Ron.

Ginny sighed, and followed her brother and her friend onto the train.

* * *

The train ride passed quickly. Ever since Harry's disappearance, none of the three had been very talkative, and they were still mourning the loss of their friend. Not many people stopped by to greet them, and the few who did didn't stay long. Their solitude was only disturbed by a brief visit from Draco Malfoy, who stopped by to taunt them. 

"Hello Mudblood, Weasel, Weaslette. Where's Potty? Oh ya, that's right. He's dead. I did warn him, back in our first year. He shouldn't have gone and made friends with the wrong sort. Look where he's wound up. Dead at the hands of the Dark Lord. Oh well, I'm sure you'll all be joining him soon enough."laughed Malfoy.

"Get lost you stinking Death Eater, we're not afraid to use a few curses on you." growled Ron.

"Ya, you stupid Ferret, why don't you crawl back to your whole and hide there?" snapped Ginny.

"You'll get what's coming to you. The Dark Lord will kill you, and all the other mudbloods, and mudblood lovers when he takes Hogwarts." drawled Malfoy as he left the compartment.

"Bloody git." said Ron, as he shut and carefully locked the compartment door.

* * *

They arrived at Hogwarts, and quickly grabbed seats in one of the first carriages. All three of them wanted to be the first to get to the school, in hopes of getting a chance to talk to Professor Dumbledore before the feast. They all wanted to know if he had any news of Harry. 

When the carriages arrived at the doors, they quickly entered the Great Hall, and ran up to the head table.

"Professor Dumbledore sir, have you found anything about Harry yet? Anything at all?" asked Hermione.

Dumbledore turned to look at them, and they could see that the twinkle in his eyes died out as he answered.

"No, I'm afraid there has been no news of young Mr. Potter. As much as it pains me to say this, there is a good chance he may be dead."

"No" replied Ginny "No, I refuse to believe he is dead. He can't be dead. It's not possible."

"I'm afraid, Miss Weasley, that even Mr. Potter was mortal, and could die. Now, I must ask you to take your seats, as we must begin the sorting shortly." answered the Headmaster.

The three quickly moved to their seats at Gryffindor table, as Professor McGonagall entered the Hall, carrying a stool and the Sorting Hat.

(Insert your own sorting here, I'm can't make a good song, so I don't want to commit blaspheme by trying, and I don't want to make up a bunch of names.)

Professor Dumbledore rose, tapping his glass to get everyone's attention. He was about to speak when suddenly a loud noise rang through the great hall, and red lights flashed from above all the tables.

"All students are to remain seated. That was the proximity alarms, set to go off when a force of over fifty dark beings entered the grounds with evil intentions. All teachers, and seventh year students willing to fight are to report to the entrance ha-" He was interrupted as the doors to the Great Hall slammed shut, and seemed to melt into one solid piece of wood.

"Albus, what is going on? Why did the doors seal?" Asked Professor McGonagall quietly.

"This most certainly is not my doing, nor do I know of any spell that can be used to seal a door in such a fashion. All the spells I know of simply close and lock the door, not melt it into one solid block."

The Headmaster quickly walked to the doors, with a few of the teachers following behind. He approached the door, trying a few quick spells in an attempt to discern what had done this. Just as he had given up, a light began to shine in the center of the doors. It grew brighter and brighter, then suddenly vanished. Where it had been, however, now rested a rune, glowing a vibrant green.

"Albus, what is this rune? It's of no language I recognize" asked the Ancient Runes professor.

"There is a very good reason you don't know what this rune is. It is from a language that has not been seen by humans in over 5000 years. It is High Elvish."

"High Elvish? You mean like House Elves?" asked Snape.

"No. House elves are nothing compared to the true elves. The High Elves were a race that has not been seen on this world in millennia. They were extremely powerful and skilled warriors, and were capable of doing magic without the same limitations as humans. Limitations which include the need for wand. They were considered to be one of the greatest embodiments of Light that ever walked the planet, the Chosen of the Light. It was said to be impossible for a High Elf to go Dark. They were able to communicate with all forms of creatures, both non-magical and magical, and had a strong bond with creatures of the light. It is said that some of their warriors rode into battle on war unicorns. It was even rumored that Royal High Elves possessed wings.

'But what does this rune mean Albus, and if the High Elves died out ages ago, how is it that this rune came to be here?" asked Professor Sprout.

"I did not say that the High Elves no longer existed. I said they have not been seen. Rumors from the time they vanished implied that they had moved into hiding, moving to cities hidden deep within the forests of the world. Most elvish runes can stand for many things, depending on the situation where they are found. This is one of the few that stand for one thing, and one thing only. It was only ever used to mark a place where an elf did battle."

"Well? What does it stand for?" demanded Professor Snape.

Professor Dumbledore turned away from the doors, to look at the teachers, and behind them, the students, all of whom were waiting with baited breath to find out what the mysterious rune meant.

"Justice Has Come."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

AN: You're going to have to put up with -Pagebreak- instead of all the lines after this chapter for the rest of this story. Stupid FFnet won't let you put in your own lines, you have to use theres, and I don't mind doing it when I'm uploading only one chapter, but when doing 29, I have absolutely no patience for it.

**Chapter 2: An Introduction**

The Great Hall was silent. Mere moments after the first sounds of battle had drifted in from outside, Professor Dumbledore had erected powerful silencing charms on the walls of the Great Hall, hoping to prevent the sounds from further scaring the student population.

The headmaster, and most of the teachers, had returned to the head table, and were quietly conferring about what could be going on outside.

"Albus, you said the alarms only sounded when over fifty enemies entered the school grounds. Is there anyway of knowing what those enemies are, and how many of them there are?" asked Professor Vector.

"Yes, there is. I worked a side spell into the alarm systems, designed to inform me exactly what was entering the grounds." replied the Headmaster.

"So? What's out there? What are we up against?" demanded Snape.

"It's not good. From what the spell told me, there were over fifty dementors, several dozen Acromatula, several trolls, a dozen vampires, and about 10 Death Eaters, although I do not believe the Death Eaters are of Voldemort's Inner Circle." responded the Headmaster.

"Sweet Merlin. If we had gone out there-"

"Yes. It would be highly likely we would be dead, and Voldemort would have succeeded in taking the school." replied the Headmaster.

"But, you said that the rune was only used when High Elves fought correct?" asked McGonagall. "That means that they are out there right now, battling the Dark Lord's forces right? How many of them do you think there are?"

"From the little I know of the Elves, and their prowess in battle," said Dumbledore, as he looked at each of the teachers in turn, "I would say there is one."

"One? You mean, one hundred? One thousand? What?" asked Snape quickly.

"No, I mean one. As in, a single elf. Just one." said Dumbledore.

"You can't be serious Albus!" exclaimed McGonagall. "No one could take on that many dark creatures and hope to live."

"I am completely serious Minerva. In fact, I am almost certain that if the battle is not done by now, it will be done very shortly." answered Dumbledore, as he turned to face the students.

"Attention! You need not fear students. I assure you that you are completely safe. If there is a High Elf out there, then you need not worry. As I said before, the High Elves are quite capable in battle, and I'm sure that the conflict outside is all but finished. I'm now going to remove the silencing charm I placed over the Hall, to see if that is indeed the case." said Dumbledore, in a voice that could not be ignored.

Dumbledore gave a wave of his wand, and dispelled the charm. Silence reigned. There was not a single sound coming from outside the walls. It was as though he had not removed the charm at all.

Then there was a sound.

It was not the sound of curses being fired off, or dark creatures screaming war cries. It was the sound of a horn, giving a long blast, shattering the silence. It sounded almost like a cry of triumph, a shout of victory. It continued for one long minute, before fading away, leaving silence once more.

No one moved. Five minutes passed, without a single person speaking. Some of the newly sorted first years began to fidget, others began to ask questions of the older students, who merely shook their heads. They had no answers. The teachers were looking at each other with questioning looks, not sure of what to do.

Professor McGonagall turned to the headmaster, planning to ask him what they should tell the students. She paused. Dumbledore wasn't moving, he was simply starring at the sealed doors expectantly.

McGonagall turned to look at the doors as well, waiting to see if anything happened.

She did not have to wait long.

The doors to the Great Hall burst open, slamming back into the walls with great force. A figure entered, shocking the murmuring students into silence.

It was not the figure himself that shocked the students, because he was shrouded in a deep cloak, and nothing could be seen of him. What shocked the students was the fact that he did not walk into the Great Hall.

He rode. What he was riding on stunned the every occupant within the hall. The headmaster included. When he had said that it was rumoured High Elves rode into battle on unicorns, he was not expecting this.

For the unicorn that the Elf was riding on was not white, as they had come to expect of unicorns. It was jet black, and quite a bit bigger then any unicorn ever seen. This was not it's most outstanding feature however. What truly stood out about this unicorn was its horn. Most unicorn's horns were about a foot long, and shining silver. This one was easily three times that length, and it shone a brilliant gold.

"A war unicorn." murmured Hagrid in awe. "Ther' suppos'd to be extinct!"

The fact that his mount was supposed to be extinct did not seem to bother the elf one bit, as he smoothly dismounted. As soon as its rider was clear, the unicorn moved back a few steps, almost as if it were guarding the elf's back. Then again, thought Ginny, it probably was.

As soon as his mount had moved out of the way, the elf threw off his cloak. The previously stunned students, only just starting to shake free of their awe in the unicorn, were stunned once again.

He was tall, and athletic looking. Pointed ears could be seen peeking out of his long black hair, which covered most of his face. He was also bristling in weapons. A bow, almost as tall as he was, was strapped to his shoulder. A quiver of arrows sat on his back, and the hilts of twin daggers could be seen poking out the top of it. Forming an X across his back, with their hilts poking up above his shoulders, two swords could be seen, nestled behind the quiver. Another sword, a Japanese katana, was strapped to his waist, and numerous daggers could be seen around his waist. Twin stilettos were strapped to the inside of his gauntlets, and two hilts could be seen poking up out of the tops of his boots. All in all, he was a walking armory.

He took a moment to slowly look around the room, and Ginny started when his eyes locked on hers. She was startled by the vibrant green of those eyes, as if nature itself was contained within them.

He slowly approached the head table, astonishing all by the grace with which he moved. It was almost as if he was gliding towards the table.

He paused briefly as he looked into Dumbledore's eyes. Then he began to speak, and all the who heard him were enraptured by the musical voice with which he spoke.

"I greet you, Albus Dumbledore. I am Prince Emrys Aethi Caldarain (AN: I realize the name Emrys has been used before, but I figure, its my middle name, I'm allowed to use it) of the High Elven Kingdom of Falandais. I would speak with you, and a select few others, in private, if I may." spoke the Elf.

"Of course." responded Dumbledore. "But, may I ask what became of the dark forces outside?"

The Elf's mouth twitched slowly into a small smile as he answered, "The taint of their darkness no longer threatens this world. They have been cleansed."

"What do you mean by cleansed?" demanded Professor Snape.

"Their darkness has been cleansed from this land. Their spirits have passed on to the next plane of existence. In simple terms, they are dead." responded the elf smoothly.

"Oh." said Snape. "Right then."

"Is there anywhere we can continue our conversation in a less public forum, Albus Dumbledore?" Emrys asked.

"Umm, yes, of course. Please, follow me to my office. Oh, and feel free to call me Albus." Dumbledore said.

"As you wish, Albus." responded the elf, as he moved to follow the headmaster from the great hall, with a few of the teachers following along behind.

Pagebreak-

"So?" Ron said, as he turned to Hermione. "What have you read about High Elves? What can you tell us?"

All the nearby Gryffindors leaned in, hoping to hear something new.

Hermione seemed flustered as she responded. "I, I don't know anything. Nothing. I've never read anything about High Elves anywhere. I've never even heard of them before."

Ron seemed shocked, it wasn't like his girlfriend not to know something about a subject. Hermione was still sitting there looking flabbergasted when Professor McGonagall approached.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Weasley, the headmaster would like to see you in his office immediately.

"What could Professor Dumbledore possibly want with us right now?" asked Ron, as the three followed McGonagall to the headmaster's office.

"I don't know Ron, but I think we'll find out when we get there." answered Ginny.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Revelations, Explanations, and Resurrections**

The three students, along with Professor McGonagall, entered the Headmaster's office to find only the Elven Prince, Professor Snape and the headmaster himself waiting for them.

"Before I begin," began the elf, "I must ask you to contact the one known as Remus Lupin, and bring him here. There are things he must hear."

Dumbledore nodded, as he made his way to his fireplace. Quickly taking a handful of floo powder, he called out Lupin's name, and stuck his head in the flames.

Moments later, he reemerged, followed shortly by a very ill looking Remus Lupin. It had been a full moon only two nights ago, and he was still not fully recovered.

"What's going on Albus?" asked Remus. "I'm really not feeling well at the moment, and I should be resting."

"I greet you, Remus Lupin." said the elf, as he rose from his chair. "You are a werewolf, correct?"

"Umm, yes. Why?" asked a somewhat nervous Remus.

"Then your illness comes as a result of an uncontrolled transformation into your wolf form?" asked the elf in a voice that implied he knew more than he was letting on.

"Err. Yes. Why? Wait, what do you mean uncontrolled transformation into my wolf form? It can't be controlled." said Remus.

The elf merely smiled.

"Can it?" asked a hopeful Remus.

"I had forgotten," replied the elf, "for a moment that you humans have not made the same advances in magical and non-magical healing methods. Silly me. In answer to your question, yes. It can be controlled. There is a spell that can be used, on the night of a full moon, to remove the curse of the werewolf from your blood. However, you retain the wolf form as an animagus form. If you are willing, I will perform this spell upon you on the next full moon."

"Of, of course. I, I don't know how to thank you! You, you. Wow." stuttered Remus.

"Now," said the elf, as he turned and returned to his seat, "I'm sure you are all wondering why I am here, and you desire some explanations. To begin this, I would like to know what you all know of the disappearance of my people." said the elf.

"Well," began Albus, "I've told them what little I know. That your people moved into hiding ages ago. We really don't know much more than that."

"Well then. That leaves me with much to explain. Firstly, you should know that not all of my people moved into hiding. Some remained behind, and disguised their elven forms, appearing to be human to all who saw them. Several families of our people chose this route, including one branch of the royal family. I am descendant from this family on my father's side. The reason that no one has had contact with these hidden elves is due to the fact that almost all the descendants of these elven families who chose to live amongst humans have no knowledge of their own heritage."

"But, what about the ears? Surely, they might suspect they might not be entirely human when they notice they have pointy ears." said Ron.

"When an elven child is born, they appear to be human. Even the children of the elves who live within our forest kingdoms are like this too. When an elf child reaches the age of 16, they undergo a transformation into their true form. This includes the ears. However, in order to undergo this transformation, the elf child must be within the holy confines of one of our elven temples, the powers of our gods granting us this transformation. This is how the families who lived as humans forgot themselves. With their children not being placed within a holy temple on their 16th birthday, they would not undergo the transformation. They would remain, to all appearances, human. The only difference being that they would have an instinctual knowledge of some things elven, and would have a bond with creatures of the light. They would also have a trace of the longevity that comes with being an elf." said the elf.

"Wow, that's cool." said Ron.

The elf smiled. "Indeed it is Mr. Weasley. Now, just for the sake of my own, shall we say, curiosity, exactly how old are you Albus?"

The headmaster seemed confused as he replied, "157, why?"

"Do you not think that this is rather old for a human to live? Has it never crossed your mind that you seem to be living a very long time? Tell me Albus, I know you recognized the rune that I placed upon your doors. How is it that you knew what it meant, when no human has seen or heard our language in millennia?"

"I don't know. It just sort of came to me." responded a confused Dumbledore, before his eyes widened in shocked realization.

"Yes. I see you understand. You, Albus, are an elf who did not undergo the transformation. Your ancestors are one of the families who chose to live as humans."

"Wow. I must admit, I am rather surprised." said Dumbledore.

"If you think that's surprising, you had best remain seated. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Tell me Albus, did you ever sire any children?" asked the elf, in an amused tone.

"Yes. Yes, I did. I had one daughter. It was a long time ago. She, she vanished when she was only two." Dumbledore said sadly.

"Then I am certain you would be interested to know that your daughter did not die? That she lived, she grew, she married?" asked the elf.

"Are you serious?" asked Dumbledore in a hopeful tone.

"Indeed. She was adopted by a family of muggles. She grew, unaware of her heritage, and eventually wed a muggle male. She bore two children of him. Both daughters. Sadly, she died about thirty years ago."

"You mean it? Who did she marry? What was his name? What were my granddaughter's names? Are they still alive?" asked Dumbledore, astounded by the news.

"You knew one of your granddaughters, and knew of another. One of your granddaughters died shortly after the birth of her first son, your great grandson. He yet lives. I am sure you will realize his identity when I tell you the surname of the one your daughter married. I'm certain you will recognize it. She married a man by the name of Andrew Evans." said the elf.

"Evans? But that's Harry's mum's maiden- oh." said Hermione.

"Correct. As I have already told you, I am of the royal line by my father's blood, but on my mother's line, I am also an elf. My mother did not know who she was. My father did. My father's true name was Prince Falathin Eory Caldarain. But amongst humans, he went by another name. A human name. James Potter." the elf said, as his smile grew.

"HARRY?" Ron exclaimed, as Professor McGonagall fainted with a THUMP to the floor.

Harry leaned over in his chair, to get a better look at the fallen professor.

"Hmm. Well, that was certainly amusing. Wouldn't you agree, Grandfather?" (AN. I'm going to be using Grandfather instead of Great Grandfather, just because it sounds better,) asked Harry, as he turned to look at Dumbledore. Dumbledore merely nodded, tears in his eyes.

"Harry!" shrieked Ginny, as she leapt out of her chair to embrace him. "I knew you weren't dead. I knew it!" Suddenly she pulled away from him, and, in a voice reminiscent of her mother, began to yell. "HOW DARE YOU JUST VANISH LIKE THAT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WERE?"

"It wasn't as if I chose to vanish like that. Some elves just showed up in my room one night, I must admit, they scared the hell out of me, and took me to Falandais." said Harry, as he tried to calm Ginny. "I'm alright. See?" He said, as he waved his arms around like a maniac.

"Okay. But your not going anywhere until you've told us everything, and I mean everything." said Ginny, still trying to glare at Harry, but failing as it was impossible to glare at someone who had such a great smile and was waving their arms around maniacally.

"Right then." said Harry, as he sat back down in his chair. "You all might want to sit down. This could take a while."

_FLASHBACK_

_Harry woke with a start. He wasn't sure why he woke up so suddenly, he knew he hadn't had a nightmare. It was almost as if something had told him to wake up. He looked at the clock. It was midnight. Only two more days until he turned 16. Not that he was really very excited about it. He knew he wouldn't be getting a birthday present from Sirius this birthday. Sirius. He still blamed himself. If only he had thought about using the mirror before, then he would have known to use it then, and Sirius would still be alive._

_He'd been exchanging a lot of letters with Ginny. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust her to keep his secrets. He felt like he could open up to her without being judged. He told her everything. Even about the prophecy. He told her how he blamed himself for Sirius' death._

_She insisted it wasn't his fault. That Sirius knew the risk when he went to the Ministry that night. She told him that Sirius would not want him to blame himself, to wallow in self-pity. It helped. It really did. He knew she understood his feelings of guilt. She had gone through the same things after her second year, she told him. She said she had blamed herself nonstop for hurting all those people. In explaining to her that it was not her fault, he realized that the same applied to him. _

_He lay there in the darkness, thinking about her. He seemed to be doing that a lot this summer. Thinking about her fiery red hair, her deep brown eyes, her pretty face. He tried to stop himself from thinking about her like that, this was Ron's baby sister for Merlin's sake, but he couldn't. He just felt drawn to her._

_As he lay there quietly thinking, he didn't notice the light that was beginning to glow in the center of his small bedroom. He didn't notice it until it flared up, nearly blinding him, before it faded. When he was able to see again, he noticed three tall figures standing where none had been before._

_He was terrified. His wand was on his desk, on the other side of the room, and there was no way he could get to it if they tried to curse him. He couldn't tell if they were Death Eaters, it was too dark, but he couldn't tell if they were friends either._

"_Who are you? How did you get here? What do you want?" Harry demanded._

"_We are here for you, young Prince." one of the figures said._

"_What do you mean? And why did you call me a Prince?" Harry asked._

"_Because that is what you are." One of the figures answered. "You are our prince, and we have come to take you home."_

_With that the nearest figure reached out and caught Harry's wrist. In a flash of light, Harry Potter was no longer to be found on Privet Drive._

_End Flashback_

"See, I told you, they didn't exactly give me much time to send out notices that I would be leaving, or even to write a note." said Harry sheepishly.

"Well, alright. I guess we can let you off the hook for scaring us, it wasn't your fault after all. Still, what happened next?" asked Ginny.

_FLASHBACK_

_The next thing Harry knew he was standing in the middle of a forest. It was daylight out, and he could see the three figures quite clearly. The first thing he noticed was their ears. They were pointed! Then he noticed how they stood. They looked to be at ease in the forest, yet there was no denying that they were could be very dangerous if they wanted to be._

_They began to walk through the forest, and Harry followed them, for lack of any other idea of what to do. He couldn't help but notice that they moved through the woods with no sound. While his feet were snapping twigs, and making sounds, they made no noise as they made their way deeper into the woods._

"_Where are we?" He asked._

"_We are in the forest of Glendon. We are approaching Faladais, my Prince."_

"_What is Falandais?" Harry asked._

"_It is our kingdom, my Prince." One of the elves responded._

"_Oh. So, why are we going there?" He asked._

"_We are going because the time of you transformation approaches. You must be prepared for the changes that will come." Another of the elves said._

"_What do you mean, transformation? What changes?" asked a confused Harry._

"_You shall see." One of the elves replied mysteriously._

_They continued on through the forest in silence for several more minutes. Just as Harry was beginning to wonder just how much longer they would be traveling, he caught a glimpse of a light ahead._

"_Welcome, my Prince," said one of his escorts, as he pushed aside some overhanging branches, "to Falandais. Our home."_

_As Harry stepped through the branches, he gazed in awe at the sight before him. He was standing on a ledge, overlooking a valley. Rising up above the treetops within the valley, roofs of buildings could be seen. Elegant, flowing roofs, curving beautifully. The buildings seemed to blend into the forest around them. The city spread out for miles in every direction, flowing through the trees, and the few clearings in sight had huge flower gardens._

"_Wow." Harry said in an awestruck voice. "Its amazing. I've never seen anything like it. It, its beautiful."_

"_That it is. That it is." said one of the elves in agreement. _

"_So where are we going? When will someone explain to me what's going on?" asked Harry._

"_We are going to the Royal Palace. There, things will be explained to you by the royal family." One of the elves answered._

_They set off down a trail that led down into the valley. It was only when they reached the floor of valley that he realized just how tall the trees really were. The nearest trunk was easily 20 feet in diameter, and stretched high up into the sky. Looking up he could see walkways linking the tree to others, and figures moving along them. Buildings were perched high in the tress, smoke rising out of their chimneys, to twist amongst the treetops._

_As they continued deeper into the forest, Harry noticed a surprising number of children who appeared to be human. He didn't see a single elven child. He didn't have long to wonder about this, because as the rounded a corner, he caught sight of a building which had to be the Royal Palace. It was massive. Yet, even with its size, it still seemed at one with the trees around it. Trees rose majestically from within the walls of the Palace, making it obvious the building had been carefully built to avoid damaging a single plant._

_As they approached the front doors, a squadron of elves, all bearing weapons, formed an honour guard around them. They entered the Palace, and were led to a room which made Hogwarts' Great Hall seem like a closet. Harry began to get nervous, as it seemed the attention of everyone present was focussed on him. He got even more nervous as he was led to the raised dais at the head of the room, where sat a man and woman, both looking very regal, and wearing crowns._

"_Umm. Hi." said a very uneasy Harry._

_Both of the elves wearing crowns cracked wide grins at this, as the man stood. _

"_Greetings. I am King Nethari Lan Vanashi, and this is my Queen Eralia Melin Vanashi. Tell me, do you have any idea what we are?" Asked the King._

"_Uhhh, really tall people with pointy ears?" Harry said, trying to make himself feel somewhat less nervous with a little joke._

_The King grinned. "We are high elves. Ages ago, our people lived side by side with humans. However, due to reasons I need not go into, our people went into hiding."_

"_What does all this have to do with me?" asked Harry._

"_You, child, are an elf." The King said._

"_No I'm not. See? No pointy ears." Harry said, pointing to his head._

"_Hmm. I see you aren't going to be easily convinced. Ah well. There are easier ways of making you understand." The King said, as he approached Harry. He reached out with a hand, and placed it on Harry's forehead, closing his eyes._

_Harry almost fell over, as knowledge flooded into his mind. How elven families had gone into hiding. How elven children resembled humans until their 16th birthday. He found within him the knowledge of the elven languages, and understood his heritage. He was an elf._

"_Holy shit!" Harry exclaimed, before collapsing into a heap._

_-Pagebreak-_

_Harry woke, and looked around. The King and Queen were there, watching him._

"_Ahh, you have awoken. I must admit, I was rather worried at how long it took you to regain consciousness. Then again, the knowledge transfer spell hasn't been used in so long, that your unconsciousness may have been perfectly normal." The king said._

"_Hang on. How long was I out?" Harry asked._

"_You were out for almost 30 hours. We were beginning to get worried you would awaken too late." The Queen responded._

"_What do you mean to late?" asked Harry._

"_Too late for your transformation. If you search your mind, you should know of what we speak." The king said._

_Almost immediately, the information came to the front of Harry's mind. The transformation. The changes._

"_Whoa. I gotta admit. This whole knowledge thing is kinda cool." Harry said._

"_I'm sure it is. Now, we must get you up. We must take you to the temple to be prepared._

_-Pagebreak-_

_It was a few minutes before midnight, and Harry was sitting in front of an altar in the Royal Temple. He had been poked and prodded for several hours by the High Priests, as they cast the necessary blessings to enable the transformations. Now he sat waiting. He'd been told it would be painful, so he was expecting the worse._

_50 seconds_

'_What are people going to say?'_

_40 seconds_

'_What are Ron and Hermione going to say? And Ginny?'_

_30 seconds_

"_I wonder how bad this is going to hurt.'_

_10 seconds_

'_Okay, I'm starting to get nervous now.'_

_5 seconds_

'_Uh oh.'_

_3..._

_2..._

_1..._

'_OH MY GOD! I'M GOING TO HAVE POINTY EARS!'_

_Then there was pain. It seared through him. Power flowing through his veins, threatening to burn him alive. He fought it. It didn't fade. His heart felt like it would burst from the strain. He surrendered. He gave in to the power. Then it struck him. The power wasn't trying to hurt him. It was trying to merge with him. He felt it absorb itself into his blood. He felt himself changing. Growing, gaining power. Then he blacked out._

_END FLASHBACK_

"So that's pretty much what happened. I transformed, as you can see, and I gained power. I spent the next month training. It would take a human years to learn what I did in a month."

"Wow, that's an incredible tale. I can scarcely believe it." Albus said.

"That's not all! Hehehe." Harry said merrily.

"What else could there possibly be?" demanded Professor Snape.

Harry looked at them all in turn, his smile growing steadily wider.

"My parents aren't dead!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Shocks, more shocks, and a Temper Tantrum**

"My parents aren't dead!"

This statement was followed by a loud THUMP, as Professor McGonagall fainted once again. Harry leaned out of his chair.

"I think she's gonna have a bit of a headache by the end of the day." Harry said amused. He looked up. "What's wrong with you lot? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"W-w-w-w-w-w-what? Y-your parents?" stuttered Ron.

"They aren't dead." said Harry.

"If they aren't dead, where have they been all these years? Why would they leave you with the Dursleys?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, I never said they were alive. Just that they weren't dead." Said Harry.

"What? Explain." demanded Snape.

"First you need to understand something. Just because we elves have have not been active in this world, does not mean we have completely ignored what was going on. Oh no. We have libraries full of every single book ever written. We have knowledge of almost every significant event that has occurred in the world for the last millennia. There are libraries in Falandais that are larger than Hogwarts itself. Anyway, I had decided to do a little research into the Killing Curse, and was shocked at what I found. The killing curse is not a killing curse at all. In actuality, it does no damage whatsoever to the victim. What it does is make an exact replica of the victim's body, while sending the victim to a sort of Limbo. The victim is then trapped there until someone succeeds in releasing them." Harry explained.

"So you're saying you can bring them back? How? When? What is this Limbo?" asked Remus.

"Yes I can bring them back. The rituals required to return them to this plane can only be preformed on New Year's Eve, and in a place of pure magic. I will have to return during the Christmas break to Falandais to perform these rituals, but they should succeed. If you wish, I could even allow some of you to accompany me there, if you would like to see it. Especially you Albus. You deserve to see your true home."

"I would be honoured." said Dumbledore.

"Me too!" said Ron, Hermione, and Ginny simultaneously.

"I already know you will want to come Remus, so don't worry. I also have another surprise in relation to your question of what the Limbo is. You see, there is actually a one-way portal to this Limbo in our world. It can be traveled at any time, but you can't return unless someone preforms the ritual. You have seen it Remus. We both have." Harry said.

Remus looked confused for a moment before realization dawned in his eyes.

"Si-Sirius?" Remus asked hopefully.

"Got it in one! Yes, the veil that Sirius fell through was the portal to the Limbo. I'll be able to get my godfather back at the same time as my parents. Oh, and Cedric Diggory too, I wouldn't feel right not bringing him back." Harry said.

"Oh Harry, I'm so happy for you." Ginny exclaimed. She got up, and pulled him up into a hug. As she pulled away, she couldn't resist giving him a quick kiss on the lips, and was rewarded when he blushed furiously.

He stared at her for a moment, still red. Then he noticed Ron glaring at him. He gave a quick cough, and started to speak. "Right then, well, anyway. Ummmmm. Oh I remember. I wanted to talk to you about dropping Divination."

"Why?" Dumbledore asked.

"Because I don't need it. I'm a Mystic." Harry answered.

"A Mystic?" Snape asked.

"An Elven Seer. My visions are somewhat more reliable than a certain teacher we all know and love. I only rarely get visions, but when I do, they are very powerful." Harry said.

"So that's why you don't want to take Divination anymore?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, that and I don't want to put up with having my death predicted on a weekly basis." Harry said.

"Do you even really need to take any classes? I mean, you said you spent the last month training." Snape asked, obviously hoping not to have to have Harry in his class anymore.

"I learnt elven magic, trained my elven skills, and learned methods of non-magical fighting. I didn't learn human magic, so I wish to continue my schooling here." Harry responded.

"That's fine." Dumbledore said.

"Oh one more thing. Sleeping arrangements." Harry said.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"I was wondering if there was a private room available in Gryffindor tower." Harry said.

"There's the Head Boy's room. The current Head Boy is a Ravenclaw, so the Gryffindor room is free. Why?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, this is kinda embarrassing. You see when I sleep, I tend to- well you see, I sorta-"

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I glow." Harry said quickly.

"WHAT?"

"I glow. Oh, and sometimes I float to. It's quite normal for an elf. It doesn't happen all the time, only when I've magically exhausted myself. It's sort of a way of speeding the recharging of my powers. I can't really control it." Harry said sheepishly.

"You glow? What colour? Pink?" Ron asked laughing.

"Shut up Ron, and stop that Ginny." Harry said, when he noticed Ginny trying to stifle her giggles. "Some friends you are." Harry grumbled.

"You have to admit Harry," Ginny said, still giggling, "it is very funny."

"I'd like to see how funny you think it is when you wake up to find yourself floating 3 feet above your bed." Harry said.

"Ah, yes, well, that sounds like a reasonable request. I'll have Dobby bring your things up to the room." Dumbledore said.

"Thanks. Well, I guess I'd better head to Gryffindor tower." Harry said, as he stood, and started walking towards the door, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny following. "How many people do you think will faint when they find out? I put 5 galleons on Neville."

"Your on." Ron replied, as the four left Dumbledore's office.

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Almost all of Gryffindor were waiting in the common room when the four arrived. They all starred, wondering why the elf prince had come to their tower.

"My fellow Gryffindors," Ron began "you are no doubt a trifle confused as to why this fine elf is here. Well, I have news to all of you who were worried over a lost member of our excellent house. May I introduce Harry Potter, the elf prince!"

THUMP.

Neville had fainted.

"Ha Ron! That's what you get for being such a prat. Since when are you so damned dramatic? You owe me 5 galleons!" Harry laughed.

"Wicked!" Seamus yelled.

"Our roommate is an elf." Dean cried.

"Ah, Dean, sadly I'm not your roommate anymore. I'm staying in the Head boy room." Harry said.

"Why?" Seamus asked.

Ginny and Hermione began giggling again, and Harry clapped his hand over Ron's mouth.

"If you tell them," Harry growled, "I will hurt you."

Ron nodded, his eyes alight with mischief.

"I expect all of you want an explanation. Well, I'm not going to give you one! Ron, Hermione and Ginny know most of the story, harass them." Harry said, as he looked at the three, smirking. "I hope I can trust you three to tell only what is necessary, and not everything? Good, well I'm going to bed, goodnight everyone."

With that, Harry turned, and walked up the stairs to the Head Boy room, leaving his friends to be mobbed by the entire Gryffindor population.

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"WHAT? How could you possibly have failed?" Voldemort screamed at Lucius Malfoy, who had been the Death Eater responsible for the attack on Hogwarts. "You should have been able to crush the school with the forces I gave you!"

"My lord, I don't know what happened! Not even Dumbledore could have defeated that force." Lucius said, groveling on the floor.

"Then find out what happened you incompetent fool!" Voldemort said. "Go. NOW!"

"At once my lord." Lucius said, as he stood, and began to walk towards the door.

"Oh, and Lucius," Voldemort called, causing Lucius to turn. "CRUCIO!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Renovations, Classes, and Damn Dirty Slytherins**

When Harry entered his new room, he was astonished by how large it was. It was easily bigger than the common room, and that didn't include the attached bathroom. He was taking a look around when he heard a slight pop behind him.

"Harry Potter Sir! You is back! Dobby knew you weren't hurt. Dobby knew that Harry Potter was too great of a wizard to be hurt by the bad Dark Wizard." The shrill voice of Dobby said.

Harry smiled slightly as he turned around. Dobby stopped in his tracks as he got a good look at the new Harry. His wide eyes swept upwards, to widen when they saw the pointed ears.

Harry smiled down at Dobby, as he began to speak in elvish. "Allou vera. Vesta linaly veros Dobby." I greet you. It is good to see you again Dobby. 

Dobby started shaking, before dropping to the ground in a bow.

"Oh, the true masters have returned. I is so sorry for my rudeness master." Dobby said.

Harry gently walked towards the cowering house elf. He crouched down next to him, and lay his hand upon Dobby's shoulders.

"Astina vesto. Ti vath lesta vintaris." Calm yourself. You have nothing to be sorry for. Harry said gently.

"But, but, I is rude. I is not properly respectful." Dobby said, looking up at Harry with tearful eyes.

"Dobby, stop. Amongst humans you may be servants, but amongst your true people, you are welcome cousins. We are both elven, just different forms of elf. Your kind is welcome in our kingdoms. You are not treated as servants. In truth, my people have done yours a great injustice. We should not have abandoned so many of your kin when we retreated to our forest havens. We feel shame at what we allowed you to suffer through. If you wish, when I return to my home at Christmas, you would be most welcome to join me. You, and any who wish to accompany you, deserve to see your true home. You deserve the life you would have had if you had accompanied us when we left. On behalf of my kin, I beg your forgiveness for the misdeed we allowed to occur." Harry said solemnly.

Dobby looked up at him. "Is what you says true? Is we really cousins to the true ones? But sir, what about Hogwarts? Dobby does not want to abandon Mr. Dumbledore. He is needing Dobby in the kitchens."

"If you do not wish to journey to Falandais, I shall not force you. Know that if you ever wish to venture there, you are most welcome. It is your right." Harry said.

"Dobby will consider what you has said Harry Potter. Dobby has a message from Mr. Dumbledore though. He says that if you wishes to change this room in any ways, you is to feel more then welcome too. Dobby must return to the kitchens now. Goodbye Harry Potter. Dobby will see you again soon." Dobby said, as he left quickly.

Harry turned back to look at his room. He took it in for one more moment, before smiling again. It could definitely be improved.

He knelt down, laying his hands against the smooth marble floor. He pushed his magic out, spreading it through the marble, changing it. When he stood, golden, richly hued wood had replaced the cold marble. Next he looked up at the ceiling. It was bare. A quick wave of his hand, and it changed. It now bore the same enchantment as the ceiling of the great hall. Then he turned his attention to the stone pillars that stood in each of the four corners of the room. He knelt at the base of each in turn, and when he finished working his magic, the pillars had been replaced with living trees, their roots embedded in the floor below. Their branches swept out from the corners, and spread out into the room. The only thing that was left was the walls. With another quick wave of his hand, he enchanted them to show a forest. He further enchanted the walls to display passing wildlife, added a faint woodsy smell, as you would smell when deep in a forest, normal sounds heard within the forest, and even enchanted a small breeze to flow through the room. He even enchanted the fireplace so that when a fire was burning, it would appear to be a campfire, and the fireplace itself would blend in with the background. The effect was magnificent. If it wasn't for the wooden floors, and the furniture, he would believe he was resting within a forest haven.

He was relaxing on the floor, simply enjoying the sounds and smells of the forest when his enhanced hearing heard the sounds of feet approaching his door.

He stood, and turned to face the door just as Ron, Hermione and Ginny burst through it, grinding to a halt as they took in the very unusual room they found themselves in.

"You like?" Harry asked.

"Wow, Harry. This is magnificent. Did you do all this? I've never seen an enchantment to make illusions as authentic as these walls." Hermione said, as she approached one of the walls.

"Who said they were illusion?" Harry asked, and his point was further emphasized as they watched a deer run from one side of the room to the other, straight through the centre of the room.

"But, that's impossible. You can't make the walls connect with a real place. It can't be done! Unless this is some sort of elf magic?" Hermione asked in awe.

Harry laughed. "No, I was only joking. It's just a very complicated illusion." He said, as he waved his arm through a passing bird.

"This is bloody brilliant mate!" Said Ron, as he looked through the door into the bathroom. "Bloody hell! You turned your bath into a lake!"

"It's not a lake Ron. It's a pond. It's a difference of size. You see, lakes are very large, while ponds are fairly small." Harry said.

"Since when have you had such an sarcastic sense of humour? You seem to be making more jokes then before." Ginny asked.

"Ah, you see, that's a side effect of my training. You see, one of my trainers was, how shall I put it? A trifle off centre? Yes that works. Anyway, lets just say, after a month of hearing nothing but sarcasm and annoying jokes, you start to pick it up. I hope for your sake you never have to meet that elf. She would likely drive you insane within five minutes." said Harry.

"Hmm. Back to the reason we came up here-" Hermione began, but was interrupted by Ginny.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE US IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT MOB TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY ANNOYING QUESTIONS THEY ASKED?" Ginny yelled.

"Probably quite a few. That's why I had you three explain instead of me. So I didn't have to be pestered by a horde of Gryffindors." Harry said smirking. "Your not really angry at me, are you Ginny?" Harry asked, pouting, and making puppy dog eyes at her.

Ginny felt a tug on her heartstrings as he looked at her like that. She really didn't know why she had ever been angry with him anyway. It wasn't like he did anything really bad, he really did deserve to be forgiven- wait a minute!

"Don't you try that on me Harry Potter! You can't make me forgive you that easily!" Ginny said.

"Please Ginny?" Harry said, as he moved nearer to her. "Say you'll forgive me?" He said, as he stood directly before her, and lifted a hand to caress her cheek.

Ginny sighed. His eyes were locked on hers. She thought she would drown in those beautiful emerald eyes.

"Harry! What are you doing to my sister?" Ron cried.

Harry jumped back, trying to look innocent. "Nothing. What makes you think I was doing anything at all? I was just looking at her. Oh, look at the time, we really must get to bed, we have class tomorrow!"

With that he opened the door, and a suspicious looking Ron left the room, followed by a widely grinning Hermione.

"Ginny?" Harry asked, turning to the girl, who hadn't moved the slightest bit for the last minute.

"Oh, Harry! Right. Bedtime. Goodnight!" Ginny said, as she made her way out the door, still in a bit of a daze.

Harry chuckled as he gently shut the door behind her. This was going to be a very interesting year indeed.

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Harry awoke the next morning at 5:00. He knew that the school would still be asleep for another two hours, so he knew that he would not be disturbed. He quickly dressed and made his way out to the Quidditch Pitch. Once there, he began his morning ritual.

He'd gone through this workout every day for the past month, and he was not going to let returning to Hogwarts make him weak. He started off with 20 laps around the pitch, followed by 1000 sit-ups and 1000 push-ups. Following this, he ran through a series of acrobatics designed to improve his agility. Then it got interesting. Conjuring illusionary opponents, he drew his katana. He spent the next 30 minutes repeatedly killing his opponents, practicing his skills. Then he spent another 30 minutes practicing with his twin shortswords, another 30 minutes with his daggers, and finished it off with 30 minutes training with his bow. By the end of this he was only beginning to feel tired.

He quickly dispelled his illusionary opponents, and returned his weapons to their places. He would carry a full arsenal of weapons with him at all times, though they would be concealed with elven magic. He had learnt early in his training that it was never wise to be caught be one of his teachers without some way to defend himself.

Before returning to the castle, he walked over to the edge of the forest, and gave a long whistle. Within seconds, the war unicorn he had arrived on burst through the foliage.

"Hello Rathi. Did you make contact?" Harry asked the unicorn.

"_Indeed I did my friend._" The war unicorn replied, and Harry understood its words perfectly, although to a human it would sound as mere neighing. "_They have agreed. When we call upon them, they shall come to our aid._"

"Excellent. I have a feeling we shall need all the allies we can get. I fear Voldemort will have little trouble countering the Elven Aura. In truth, it is only a viable option in battle against a foe who has never encountered our people before. Once they learn how it vanquishes all evil within a certain radius, it is not too difficult to counter. Still, if I am lucky, Voldemort will remain clueless, and I'll be able to take care of his next attack force with the same ease as the one yesterday." Harry said to the unicorn.

"_Indeed. So tell me my friend. Have you had any luck with the red haired one you were thinking of so much on the journey here_?" Rathi asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry glared at the unicorn. "Why is it that you are so persistent in this? It seems like every time we talk, you manage to bring up some mention of a female that you think I should be with."

"_Because my friend. I, as the most experienced one here, know the true value of a mate_." The unicorn responded, laughing somewhat.

"More experience my arse! For one, I know you only recently reached maturity. For another, I know for a fact that you spent most of my month in Falandais attempting to seduce that young filly. What was her name? Starburst? Starwind? Star-something." Harry said, with a smirk.

"_Her name was Starlight, thank you very much. I'll have you know that she was the number one, that's number one, most sought after filly in our year group. And I won her. Me._" Rathi responded.

"Only after using the whole 'I'm going away and I don't know if I'll ever come back' line on her! I can't believe she fell for that load of bull." Harry laughed.

"_Well still. I'm more experienced, so I say, go after the redhead_." Said the unicorn.

Harry sighed. "I think I will be the one in charge of my own love life. I have to get back up to the castle soon, so I better get going. Continue your patrols of the forest, if you can, make contact with anyone you feel would be appropriate. If something comes up, give me a telepathic shout, and I'll get out there as soon as I can. The same goes for me. If I need you, I'll call. Oh, and I have a feeling Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher I told you about, will want to have a look at you, so if you see him, feel free to approach him. You can trust him with your life."

The unicorn nodded, then turned and ran back into the forest. Harry shook his head, watching him disappear into the trees. That unicorn was too damn nosey.

Harry quickly made his way back up to Gryffindor Tower, carefully avoiding anyone who was walking the hallways. There was still thirty minutes before breakfast began, so he would have plenty of time to change into his school clothes, and take a quick shower. He'd decided to skip wearing the customary school robes. He wanted to wear something more comfortable, and easier to fight in. If anyone made a fuss, he'd just say that he had to wear clothes suitable to his race, and if that meant not wearing robes, so be it.

By the time Harry had finished getting ready, breakfast had already begun. He carefully arranged his long hair so that his scar was clearly visible, then checked to make sure all the concealment charms on his weapons were working properly. Then he made his way down to the great hall for breakfast.

By the time he made it down there, word of his identity had spread from the Gryffindors, and now the whole school was aware that the elven prince was none other than Harry Potter. As he walked into the Great Hall, nearly every eye was on him. When he didn't to anything very interesting, other than sitting down, about half of those watching him stopped, and turned their attention back to their food. That half was the male population of Hogwarts. The female population couldn't seem to tear the eyes from Harry. Perhaps it was because he was wearing a tight shirt. A very tight shirt. A shirt that very clearly showed of his muscled chest and arms.

Harry was starting to get more than a little uncomfortable with all the attention, so he decided to do something drastic.

Standing up again, he pulled Ginny out of her seat. "Ginny," he began, in a voice that carried easily to the other side of the great hall. "Would you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"

She didn't say anything, but he could see the joy in her eyes. She nodded.

"Great!" Harry said, then promptly sat back down, pulling Ginny back down with him.

A quick glance around the room confirmed that he was no longer the centre of attention. Now a large number of the girls were glaring daggers at Ginny's back.. She didn't seem to care.

"Thanks Gin. I'd planned to ask in a bit more private a location, but I figured I might as well get it over now. Plus, now everyone knows I belong to you." Harry said.

Ginny smiled at him. "Thanks Harry. Now what to do with my new possession?"

"I can think of a few things." Harry said, winking.

"HARRY!" Ron cried. "I may be willing to accept you going out with my little sister, but there are some things I don't want to hear."

"Hush Ron," Hermione said to her boyfriend. "I've heard worse things come from your mouth."

Ron blushed. Harry just laughed, and turned his attention to his plate.

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Harry and Hermione went to their first class, which happened to be Potions. They were the only Gryffindors to have qualified to take 6th year potion. Harry wasn't very concerned about it. He may not have studied human magic or potions during the summer, but he did study elven potions, many of which were more complicated than human ones. He also had an excellent memory, so he knew he wasn't likely to have any trouble in this class.

Shortly after taking his seat, Professor Snape entered the classroom.

"The last two years of potions are by far the most difficult of your entire stay at Hogwarts. Some of you," and here he glared at Harry, "will almost certainly fail, however I am certain that others in this class will perform quite admirably." At this he looked at Draco Malfoy.

"The potion you will be brewing today is Veritiserum. The instructions are on the board. You may begin." Snape said, before entering his office and shutting the door.

"So Potty, looks like you found another way of attracting attention. Tell me, are those ears fake?" Malfoy drawled as soon as the door had shut.

"Shut up Malfoy. You don't want to anger me." Harry said coldly.

"I'm not afraid of you Potty." Draco sneered. "You'll die just like your idiot parents."

He didn't even have a chance to blink. Before anyone had seen him move, Harry was across the room, slamming Malfoy into the wall, and bringing the blade of one of his knives to Malfoy's throat.

Professor Snape, hearing a load THUD coming from his classroom, emerged from his office, and was shocked at what he saw.

"Potter! Release Malfoy immediately. I'll have you expelled for drawing a weapon on a fellow student." Snape said triumphantly.

Harry ignored him. "This piece of scum insulted a member of the royal family. For a non-elf, that is a crime punishable by death. I am merely deciding whether or not to execute the sentence. And you cannot have me expelled. I do not answer to you. You cannot influence any aspect of my life."

"Your elven laws do not apply here. This is Hogwarts! Not an elven kingdom." Snape said.

"There you are wrong. This foundations of this castle are that of the ancient elven citadel of Dalandrin. Hogwarts was built on those foundations. This castle answers to elven magic." Harry said.

"What?" Snape asked, shocked. "I don't believe you. This castle is not elvish. It was built by the founders."

"And one of the founders was an elf, and knew on what he was building the school. You desire proof?" Harry asked. "You shall have it."

With that, Harry placed his hands upon the nearby wall. It seemed to melt away, revealing a room beyond.

"This dungeon rests within the original foundations of the citadel. This room is an elven armory, see?" Harry said, as he walked in, summoning a light.

Glittering on the walls of the room were hundreds of weapons. Racks and racks of swords, bows, and armour spread out across the floor.

"I had planned to open this room in private, and return these weapons to Falandais at a convenient time. They must be removed immediately. They cannot remain here." With that, Harry threw out his arms, and golden light shone out of them, enveloping all the items within the room. In a flash, the weapons and armour that had sat in that room for thousands of years vanished.

"That is your proof Professor. If any should insult my parents in my hearing again, I may not be merciful. Anything not revolving around the direct education of the students of this school is my responsibility. The defenses and wards will no longer accept a human's control, now that an elf has entered their boundaries." Harry said.

Snape simply nodded, stunned, before turning and running as fast as he could towards the headmaster's office.

Harry walked back to his place, and started making his potion, ignoring the looks his classmates were giving him.

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Following the rather interesting potions class, Harry made a brief detour to fully explain things to the Headmaster. To say that Albus was shocked to discover that Hogwarts was built on the foundations of an elven citadel would be an understatement. However, he didn't make a large fuss about it, understanding that Harry understood elven matters far better than him. The only thing he asked was that Harry attempt to refrain from frightening his classmates, which Harry reluctantly agreed to.

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The rest of Harry's classes past without incident, although he did seem to find them much easier than they had ever been before. At the end of his transfiguration class, his last class of the day, Professor McGonagall asked him to stay after class so she could talk to him about something.

"Yes professor? What is it you wanted to talk about?" Harry asked, after the rest of the students had left the room.

"You will be happy to hear that you have been allowed to play Quidditch again, and you have been selected as Quidditch Captain." McGonagall said, smiling slightly.

"Really? That's great!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes. Ms. Weasley has willingly given up her position as seeker, so that you can retake it. I believe she has her sights set on being a chaser. As you know, we have to replace our three chasers, as Ms. Johnson, Ms. Bell, and Ms. Spinnet graduated last year. I have taken the liberty of booking the pitch for tryouts on your behalf for this Saturday afternoon. Do try to choose a good team, won't you?" McGonagall said.

"Of course Professor. Thank you!" Harry said, as he rushed out of the room.

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"Guess what Ron?" Harry said, as he sat down next to Ginny at dinner. "I've been made Quidditch captain!"

"Well who did you expect it to be? Me? Ya right! No Harry mate, it should be you. You have four years more experience than anyone else on the team." Ron said through a mouthful of peas.

"Congratulations Harry. I knew you'd get it." Hermione said.

"Ya good job Harry. You deserve it. You will pick me for chaser won't you?" Ginny asked. "You couldn't deny your oh so pretty girlfriend anything, could you?"

"Now Ginny, I have to be fair. I can tell you this though. From what I've seen of your flying, you stand a very good chance of being picked. Right Ron?" said Harry.

"Mhhhm." Ron tried to say, spilling peas all over the table.

Ginny giggled. "I suppose that's a yes?"

"Mhhhm." Ron said again, this time nodding his head vigorously.

"Good." Ginny said. "I really want to be a chaser this year."

"I have faith in you. Don't worry Gin, I'm sure you'll do great." Said Harry, before turning his attention to his own peas.

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That evening, Harry gathered all of Gryffindor into the common room.

"Okay you lot. Listen up. I've been picked as Quidditch captain. This year, we need three new chasers. Tryouts are on Saturday if you want to try out. Thank you."

That being said, he sat down, and played a game of chess with Ron, before going to bed. He lost the game of course. Even elven skills can't help you if you suck at chess.

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Draco was fuming as he sat in the Slytherin common room that night. How dare Potter get the best of him? He was a Malfoy! Still grumbling, he rose, and began writing a letter to his father.

Dear Father,

You'll never guess what I found out today...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Birds and the Beasts**

Harry awoke early again the next morning, and quickly headed out to the Quidditch Pitch. He hadn't been there more than twenty minutes before he heard Rathi calling to him from the forest. Quickly checking to make sure he had all his weapons, Harry hurried over to the edge of the forest, just as the unicorn burst from the trees.

"What is it Rathi? What's wrong?" Harry demanded.

"_We may have a problem Emrys,"_ The unicorn said.

"I've told you. Unless we're around other elves, call me Harry. Now, what's the problem?" asked Harry.

"_I came across a couple of those dark wizards you mentioned in the forest. What did you call them? Death Munchers? Anyway, they were already leaving, so I followed their trail to find what they were doing there. We need to make contact with the Acromantulas now. I can assume the evil ones were attempting to get them as allies. It is my belief that those who participated in the attack did not do so with the permission of their leader, for they were all juveniles, and if they were under orders, there would have been at least one elder accompanying them. I would assume that the majority of the Acromantulas have not yet allied with the dark lord. I had been planning to leave off contacting them until we had a more secure force in the forest, but now we cannot wait_." Rathi said.

"Damn. Okay, make contact with those you have already secured as our allies. We may need their help, and I need to meet them anyway." Harry told the unicorn.

The unicorn stood still for a moment, with his eyes closed.

"_Done. The leaders of our allies will meet us in a glade near to the Acromantula lair_." The unicorn said.

"Then lets get going." Said Harry, as he smoothly leapt onto Rathi's back, and they plunged into the forest.

Rathi moved like lightning, speeding through the dark woods. If Harry was a human, he would have been terrified, but as an elf, he could easily see that the unicorn knew exactly what it was doing. Within minutes, they had arrived in the forest clearing. It was empty.

_They'll be here soon_. Rathi said.

Sure enough, soon the sound of rustling leaves announced the arrival of at least one presence. It was a unicorn.

"_I greet you elf prince. It has been a long time since your kind has been seen in this forest. Too long. My name is Moonstar, and I am the leader of my kind in this area._" The unicorn said.

"_I greet you Moonstar._" Harry said, as he slid off Rathi's back, and approached the unicorn. "_Thank you for coming_."

Looking up, Harry saw two forms gliding towards him. He smiled slightly. Rathi had done his work well. These were powerful allies indeed. A brilliant white Pegasus landed gently on the ground, followed shortly by a beast which was bigger than even Rathi. It was a Golden Gryphon.

"_Hello elven one_." Said the pegasus. "_I am Lightwing, leader of the Pegasi of this forest_."

"_And I am Firefur, leader of the Gryphon population._" Spoke the large and intimidating creature.

Harry greeted each with a regal nod of his head.

"_We pledge our lives and the lives of our kin, to the service of the light's chosen. We shall strive to hold back the dark and keep the fires of good burning_." The three intoned.

Harry listened to them patiently. It was a ritualistic vow, and he needed to do his part in turn. Drawing his katana, he cut a gash on his hand, and let the blood drip to the ground.

"By my blood, I vow to defend your homes with my life. None of darkness shall harm you or your kin without first slaying myself, and any of my kind with me." Harry said.

"_The alliance is bound. We stand together. Now, we must head to the Acromantula lair_." Spoke Rathi. "_We must ascertain whether they have sided with the dark, or if they choose to side with the light_"

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Entering the Acromantula lair, accompanied by the leaders of the light creatures of the forest, Harry was more than a little nervous. Even with the creatures being as powerful as they were, they would be vastly outnumbered by the spiders. There had been hundreds in his second year. Four years later, there could very well be thousands.

Arriving in the hollow where he had met Aragog the last time, he called out.

"Aragog! I must speak with you."

"Why should I listen to you Elf?"

"Because I slew the beast within the chamber of secrets four years ago, your greatest foe." Harry said.

"You slew the Great Snake?" Aragog asked. "Then I shall let you speak. But tell me, why should I ally with you and not the one known as Voldemort. For I assume that is why you have come, is it not?"

"Because Voldemort is the one who framed Hagrid for the deaths. Voldemort is the one who released the great snake into the school. Voldemort allies with the great snakes. If you side with him, you will be betraying your own kind." Harry answered.

"He is the one who harmed Hagrid? He is the one who set the evil creature against the school?" Aragog asked, in a fury. "Then we shall not ally with that vile dark one. We shall side with you, Slayer of the Snake. We are yours to command."

"Thank you Aragog. You have made the right choice." Harry said. "For now, simply wait. If I need to contact you, I shall either come in person, or Rathi here will come. If you need to contact me, send a message to Rathi, and he will make certain I receive it. Farewell Aragog." With that, Harry turned and walked from the spider lair.

"_We are lucky Prince. They would have made a very dangerous enemy._" Said Firefur.

"Indeed. Well, I must get back to the castle, it is near time for breakfast to begin. I would ask you all to patrol the forest. If you see any sign of dark wizards or creatures, do not attack. Simply watch what they do. However, if it looks like they plan to attack or harm any allied creature, then feel free to move against them." Harry said.

"Of course Prince Emrys." Said Lightwing.

"Please, call me Harry. All of you. I'm still not really used to being called Prince."

"_Of course Prince Harry_." Moonstar said, as he moved off into the forest.

Harry turned to Rathi, who was the only one left with him. "Are all unicorns so annoying?" He asked.

"_Yes. Now get up here_. " Said Rathi, as Harry mounted, and they returned to Hogwarts.

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By the time Harry got back to the castle, breakfast was underway. He quickly walked in, and seated himself beside Ginny, and across from Ron and Hermione.

"Harry, where have you been? What the- you're bleeding!" Hermione exclaimed.

Looking down at his hand, he saw the cut he had sliced into it.

"Oh ya. I forgot about that!" Harry said, still looking at it.

"You forgot? How can you forget about a big cut on your hand? What happened?" Ginny asked.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it." Harry replied.

"You really should go see Madam Pomfrey about that. It looks deep." Ron said.

"Nah." Harry replied. "I can take care of it." With that, he held his other hand over the cut. It glowed golden for a moment, and when it faded, the cut was gone.

"Whoa! Cool, how did you do that?" Ron asked.

"Elves have healing powers. Some are better than others. I can only heal simple wounds like cuts and bruises, but some can heal diseases and broken bones in seconds." Harry said shrugging. "Pass the pumpkin juice?" He asked, and started eating his food.

"_HEYA! HI! HEY LOOK AT ME! LOOK WHAT I GOT! LOOK AT ME! HEY, OVER HERE! OOOOOH, LOOKIE WHAT I GOT! HEY! HEY! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! WHERE ARE YOU? THERE YOU ARE! I SEE YOU! SEE? HERE I COME! HERE COMES ME! INCOMING ME! AREN'T YOU PROUD OF ME? I FOUND YOU! YEA FOR ME_"

Harry started laughing so hard that he choked, and Ginny had to smack him on the back repeatedly to help him. He kept laughing.

"What the hell is so bloody funny mate?" Ron asked. "Its just the mail."

Harry just kept laughing, and pointed a finger behind Ron, where a buzzing furry tennis ball could be seen doing loops.

"T-t-t-that owl! What he's saying. He-he, oh hell, its Pig, just imagine what Pig would be saying if he were speaking English." Harry said, still laughing.

Ron turned around to look at his owl. "Good point." He said, as he snatched Pig from the air.

"_WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! THAT WAS FUN! LETS DO THAT AGAIN! HUH? CAN WE? PLEEEEEEEEAAASSSEEE?" _

"_That owl is a menace. It is a bad example to all young owls everywhere_" Came a serene voice from above Harry. Looking up, he saw that it was Hedwig.

"Hey girl. Do you have any mail for me?" Harry asked his owl.

"_No. I think Apollo does though. He should be here soon, he wasn't far behind me. I would like some of that bacon though. It looks tasty!_" Hedwig replied.

"Of course. Here." Said Harry, pushing his plate of bacon towards here. He watched her swallow the pieces for a moment, before he detected Apollo's presence nearing the Great Hall.

When Apollo flew into the Great Hall, the students gazed in awe. Many of them had never seen a phoenix before. Even those who had seen Fawkes on occasion, or seen pictures of a phoenix in a book were in awe. For this phoenix was nothing like the red and gold bird most thought of when they heard someone speak of phoenixes. This bird's plumage was a shining silver and blue, glittering brightly in the light. It was also twice the size of a regular phoenix. Even Dumbledore looked on in awe, as even he had never heard of such a phoenix. The entire population of the great hall, except Harry, watched as the beautiful creature flew down, and settled itself on Harry's shoulder. Harry, ignoring all the attention the bird was getting, merely took a piece of toast, buttered it, added some strawberry jam, layered it with bacon, and then passed it to the phoenix perched on his shoulder, who apparently ate it with great delight.

"I don't know how you can stand to eat something like that, Apollo." Harry said, shaking his head, and his voice carried across the silent hall. "I've tried that thing you call the perfect breakfast. Nasty that is."

Everyone watched as the phoenix, finishing his meal, gracefully extended one wing and swatted Harry in the back of the head, knocking his head into his bowl of cereal.

Harry jerked his head out of the bowl, spluttering and dripping milk. "Hey! What was that for?" He yelled.

The phoenix just looked at him calmly, with an innocent look on his face.

"Why must I be surrounded by a bunch of moronic birds?" Harry asked. Hedwig, who had just settled on his other shoulder, promptly swatted him back into his cereal.

Giggles swept through the hall.

"I didn't mean you Hedwig! I meant this buzzard on my other shoulder, and that little fuzzball that's flying around here somewhere." Said Harry, before his head was once again knocked into his bowl by the impact of small owl to the back of his head.

"_OOPSIE! SORRY ABOUT THAT! DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE MISTER! HEY! YOUR FACE IS ALL WET! AND ITS REALLY RED TOO! OOOOOOH! ITS GETTING REDDER_!"

Nearly everyone in the Great Hall was laughing now. Harry looked around annoyed. 'Well, at least Ginny had the courtesy to try to contain her laughter.' he thought. Ron was rolling on the floor, howling with laughter, and Hermione had her head on the table, her shoulders shaking.

"Some friends you are." He grumbled, which promptly set Ginny laughing uncontrollably. He glared at her.

"_Don't glare at your girlfriend Harry. It isn't polite_." came the voice of Apollo.

Harry turned to look at the phoenix perched on his shoulder, his face a mix of emotions. He seemed to be struggling to decide what to say when he gave up, and stuck his tongue out at the bird.

When Harry looked up, he noticed Professor Dumbledore standing over him, eyes twinkling.

"Tell me Harry, what exactly is this fine animal? I've never seen a phoenix this colour before." Dumbledore asked.

"That's cause no human has seen one. Ever. This rather annoying thing is one of the Phéalas. The Phoenix Lords." Harry responded.

"Really? Do you think it might be possible to obtain one of his tail feathers for study?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm afraid that you do not know what you are asking. The tail feathers of a phoenix lord are extremely rare, so rare in fact, that in the last one hundred years, the elves have only collected five. Phoenix lords almost never drop feathers. The feather's of a phoenix lord are infinitely more powerful than that of a regular phoenix. They are only used in the construction of battle staffs for our most powerful magi. I'm afraid it would be impossible for you to have one, even if Apollo did drop a feather. I am sorry." Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Ah well. That's okay." He said, before returning to the table.

"_Harry, why would you say that? Sure my feathers are rare and powerful, but they aren't as rare as you made them sound. We could easily let him have one_." Apollo asked from his shoulder.

"_I know_." Harry answered, speaking in phoenix, so no one could overhear him. "_But now I have a great Christmas present for him!"_

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As they rose to head to class, Apollo remained on Harry's shoulder.

"Umm, Harry. Are you allowed to bring him to class?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not bringing him Hermione. He's bringing himself. He just coincidentally happens to be hitching a ride. Seriously though, he is not a pet, so I can't exactly tell him where he can and can't go. And if I tried, I'm sure he'd whack me on the head again." Harry answered. From his shoulder, Apollo gave a little trill. "He's just confirmed that."

Ron laughed. "I think I could get to like that bird." Apollo trilled at this.

Harry smirked. "He says if you call him a bird again, he'll whack you one."

Ron grinned. "Sorry oh high and mighty Phoenix Lord! I am unworthy of being in your presence. Forgive me!" He groveled.

Apollo trilled again, and seemed to puff out his chest.

"Now he says its about time some one showed him the proper respect."

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Their first class that day was Transfiguration. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down, and seconds later Professor McGonagall entered the room.

"Good morning class. Today we will beginning a study on Animagi. Now, I have here a potion which when drank, reveals a person's animagus form, if they have one. In turn, each of you are going to drink the potion, and we'll see what forms you all could have."

They all took turns drinking the potion. Hermione turned into a Barn owl, and Ron turned into a red fox. When Malfoy's turn came, he quickly drank the potion, looking extremely sure of himself. 'Probably thinks he'll turn into a dragon or something!' Harry thought. The whole class burst into laughter when he turned into a ferret. When he changed back, he glared at all the laughing Gryffindors. Not surprisingly, Crabbe and Goyle didn't have animagus forms.

Harry went last. When his turn came, he looked nervously at the potion in front of him.

"Umm Professor? This might not be a very good idea." He said nervously.

"_I agree Harry. If you take that . . . " _Said Apollo.

"Awww, is Potty scared of a potion? Potty afraid he'll turn into something stupid?" Malfoy sneered, trying to regain his confidence.

"Yes, I am afraid I'll turn into you, but that's not why I don't want to take the potion. I'm just not sure that I should drink this." Harry said.

"And why not Mr. Potter?" Queried McGonagall. "I must insist you drink the potion, as in the next months you will be doing studies based on your form."

"Errr. Okay. But, I'm telling you. This won't end well." Harry said.

"_Wait, I don't want to be in range once you drink that!_" Said Apollo, as he flew off of Harry's shoulder. Once Apollo had settled himself a window ledge, Harry drank the potion.

White light exploded around Harry, blocking him from the view of all those in the room. It seemed to fluctuate, changing rapidly through various colours, and hues. This went on for over a minute before the white light flared again, shining a pure white, with streaks of gold and silver within. It remained like this, not changing, for over five minutes. Ron and Hermione were terrified, and looked to Professor McGonagall for an explanation. Then they saw that she was in as much shock as they were.

Suddenly the light died, and Harry could be seen in the middle. He seemed a little woozy as he spoke.

"I told you that wasn't a good idea." He said, before dropping to the ground unconscious with a loud THUMP.

Looking at Apollo, Ron and Hermione were shocked to see him shaking his head slowly. It was as if he were saying 'I told you not to do that.' Then again, he probably was.

"Class dismissed," called McGonagall. "Granger, Weasley, take Potter to the hospital wing immediately. I must find the headmaster." She said, as she walked quickly out of the room.

Ron and Hermione quickly levitated Harry's unconscious body, and floated him down the hall.

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Harry opened his eyes slowly, looking around. White walls, the smell of lemon disinfectant. He was in the Hospital Wing.

"Really, Potter. Can't you be a little more careful? Its only the second day of school and you're already here. I wasn't expecting to see you for at least a week or two." Said Madam Pomfrey, as she bustled around his bed. "Now, I must go alert the headmaster that your awake, he wanted to be informed immediately."

As she left the room, Apollo flew in the nearby window.

"_I did warn you. What did you expect would happen. You know perfectly well that the potion was not designed for someone with more than one form. For an elf, its like trying to watch a movie on super fast-forward, and then hitting the good part and the tape blowing up." _Said the phoenix.

"Wow. Your analogy really didn't handle that last part well." Harry said grinning.

"_Shut up. How else would you describe it? Its not exactly an easy thing to describe._" The phoenix replied.

"Ya, well. Looks like I'm going to have to." Harry said, as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron, Hermione and Ginny entered the room.

"Harry!" Shrieked Ginny, as she ran over to give him a big hug. "I was so worried when Ron and Hermione said you were hurt! What happened?"

"Ya mate. You were out cold. You missed Charms!" Ron said.

"Well, you see. Its rather complicated. That potion is not meant for someone with multiple animagus forms." Harry said.

"Multiple forms? That's impossible." McGonagall exclaimed.

"For a human, maybe. For an elf, who are linked with animals of all kind, its not. Not only do I have multiple forms, I have unlimited forms. I can change into any non-magical animal, or creature of the light, that being a rather long list itself." Harry said.

"Well that would explain the flickering of the light. You were going through your forms at top speed. But what about that bit at the end. You were solid white, except for gold and silver streaks, for over five minutes." Hermione said.

"Ah, that would be an elven secret. I can't really tell you about it at this time. If there ever is a need, I may have to reveal that, but I hope there isn't for a long time." Harry answered.

"Alright Harry, but please be careful. If you think something might be bad for you, just don't take it. I've only just found out you are my grandson, I don't want to lose you already." Dumbledore said.

"Well," Said Harry, as he swung his legs off the bed, "I believe we have Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon? We better get going, we don't want to be late."

"I should think not! You're staying here! I don't know what that potion may have done to you. I need to watch you for a while to make sure everything's okay." Said the nurse.

"Please, I know myself far better than you could. You've never treated an elf before. We are able to take minor injuries and recover rapidly. I'm perfectly fine." Said Harry.

"Well, alright. But try to be careful? I don't want to see you again for at least a week." The nurse answered.

With that, Harry leapt nimbly out of bed, and was out the door in seconds.

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When the trio arrived at their Care of Magical Creatures class, the whole class had already gathered. Hagrid was standing in front of them, but the class were surprised when they didn't see any sort of creature nearby.

All of the class except Harry. He had a feeling that he knew what this unit would be about. He also could feel Rathi's presence in the woods, standing not 10 metres from Hagrid.

"Righ' then. Got a special treat fer ye today. We're studyin somethin that asn't been seen fer thousands of years. I'm real excited about it. Anyway, I don want ter keep ye waiting, so Harry, if ye could call yer friend now please?" Hagrid asked, looking at Harry expectantly.

Harry grinned. He had guessed right. Hagrid wanted to do a study on war unicorns. He gave a quick mental call for Rathi to make an appearance. Seconds later, the war unicorn burst from the trees, and walked towards Hagrid, lifting his hooves up high as he walked, with his head thrown back.

Harry snorted with laughter.

"Rathi, your so full of yourself! Why the heck did you feel the need to show off with a parade march?" Harry said laughing.

Everyone saw the unicorn glare at Harry.

"Righ' then. Harry, I'll ask you to help me a wee bit with this lesson, seeing as ye know what this fine creature is saying, you can translate for us." And with that Hagrid began to teach, with Harry and Rathi providing any information that Hagrid didn't know, leaving out a few secrets.

At the end of the class, Harry approached Hagrid.

"Hey Hagrid. Rathi says he was happy to help out, and if you ever want him again, he'd be more than willing to do so. I think he just likes the attention. Anyway, in case you were interested, if you want to do a lesson on Pegasi, or Golden Gryphons, I easily ask a few I know to show up." Harry said.

"Really? That'd be great Harry! Thanks!" Hagrid said happily. "Now, ye better get goin. Dinner is startin soon."

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Voldemort was sitting in his throne room, trying to understand what could have happened at Hogwarts when Lucius Malfoy came running in.

"My Lord! I just got an owl from my son! There's something you need to know..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Pranks and Flights **

"So," the Dark Lord said to himself, sitting on his throne. "Potter's an elf is he? Well then. I guess we'll have to remove him from the picture as soon as possible. Wormtail!"

Pettigrew scurried forth from the shadows, and approached the throne.

"I want you to kill Potter at the next opportunity. He must die as soon as possible." The dark lord hissed.

"Yes, My Lord. I shall do it this Saturday. The Gryffindors are holding their Quidditch tryouts, so Potter will be vulnerable."

"Good. Take a few Death Eaters with you. Remember, you must stay out of the fight itself. You are too useful as a spy to endanger yourself. After Potter is dead, continue to spy on what happens at Hogwarts. I want to know everything that muggle loving fool Dumbledore does."

"Of course my lord. I will not fail you." Pettigrew groveled, as he hastened out of the room.

"Lucius. Your task is to find out as much as you can about these elves. I want to know everything. I don't care if you have to break into the Ministry to get it!"

"At once my lord." Lucius said smoothly.

"Good. Now leave. I have things I need to consider. Oh wait, Lucius, you forgot to bow. Crucio!"

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Harry woke with a start, sweat beading on his forehead. It was a good thing that elves were immune to hostile mind intrusions.. If he had continued with occulmency, he would never have gotten that warning, or the warning about the attack during the feast. Voldemort could no longer control his mind, so he knew everything he saw in his dreams was true.

'Hmmmm. So Voldemort was planning to try to kill him during the Quidditch tryouts was he? This would be very interesting indeed. Not too mention fun!' He thought, before going back to sleep.

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When Harry woke that morning, he decided it was time to reveal another part of the new Harry. During the summer, he had been forced to endure being trained by one Allia Vashi Daldanan. While she was renowned in the Elven Kingdoms as one of the best with the bow, and sword of the time, she also had a sort of split personality. At times, she could be dead serious, and could be trusted in any situation. At other times, if you were smart, you would stay as far away from her as you possibly could. She was also the best elven prankster alive. According to her, she had learned from the very best. James Potter himself. She had vowed to herself that she would ensure that when Harry left the elven kingdom, he would be worthy of being called the son of a Marauder. And so, she had taken him under her wing, and taught him all the tricks of the trade. Harry learnt quickly, for it seemed pranking was in his blood. Together, the two of them, combined with Apollo, who was used for scouting, and planting items, and Rathi, who was useful for quick escapes, they wreaked havoc on the elven city. By the end of his time there, she had been proud to dub him an official Marauder, with all privileges and responsibilities that came with the title. She had named him Bolt, for the lightning bolt symbol that was present on all his animal forms. And so, Harry emerged a prankster, and was set to make his grand entry into the world of terrorizing students, in particular, Slimy Slytherins, around the school.

This was why Harry could be found walking through a deserted hallway while all others in the castle were still asleep. He had found many interesting things amongst his Father's belongings at Falandais. Among them was a particular book, which documented all Marauder activity, and their secrets.

At last, he reached what he was looking for. It was a portrait of four animals. A stag, a large dog, a wolf, and perched on the stag's head, a small rat. Smiling to himself, Harry opened the book, and tapped it once.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He intoned.

He watched, smiling, as writing spread across the page.

'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs Proudly Present: The Marauder's Guide to Marauding; Pranking for Dummies, and our secrets.'

"Mr. Bolt would like to request the password for access into the Lair." Harry said to the book.

"Mr. Prongs would like to remind Mr. Bolt that the password is 'I solemnly swear to give Slytherins hell."

"Mr. Wormtail would like to remind Mr. Bolt that he should never get caught as the items and knowledge contained within the Lair are very incriminating.

"Mr. Padfoot would like to tell Mr. Wormtail to shut up, and stop worrying about the consequences, and encourages Mr. Bolt to make the prank worthy of the Marauder name.

"Mr. Moony agrees with Mr. Padfoot, and wishes Mr. Bolt the best of luck with future pranks."

Harry smiled. "Thanks guys." He said, as he closed the book.

Turning to the portrait, he dutifully intoned the password. As soon as he finished speaking, the animals on the canvas began to move, looking at him, then bowing, and with that, the portrait swung open, revealing the room beyond.

Harry whistled as he gazed into the room beyond. Now he knew why the Marauders didn't include this room on the Marauder's Map. They wouldn't want to risk a professor finding, and discovering how to use, the map, and then finding there way into this room.

For what was contained within the room before him was a prankster's paradise. To one side, was a miniature potions lab, complete with bottles of every ingredient imaginable, no doubt stolen from the teacher's stores. Above the counter, was a shelf, with several books labeled 'Prank Potion Recipes'.

There was a section devoted to charmed items, which would put Fred and George to shame, along with detailed instructions of their effects, and how to make more of them.

Finally, there was, and here Harry broke into what could only be described as an evil grin, sitting on a pedestal, a massive book. Its title: 'Every Spell That Can Be Used For Pranks That Has Ever Existed, From Now Til The Day After Tomorrow, by the Marauders.'

Quickly Harry began preparing. He rapidly whipped up a large batch of a particularly useful potion, and quickly flipped through The Book, and noted down a couple good spells.

On his way outside to begin his morning training, he made one brief stop over in the kitchens, to have a word with Dobby. He smiled as he left the kitchens, his backpack lighter by the weight of several large potion bottles. Slytherin would be in for one hell of a surprise at breakfast!

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When Harry entered the Great Hall, he took a quick glance at the Slytherin table. Good, the potion hadn't taken effect yet. He didn't want to miss a single thing. He sat down in his usual place at the Gryffindor table, still staring intently at the Slytherins. He didn't even notice his friends trying to get his attention until he felt a kick coming under the table from Ron's direction.

"Harry! Listen to me. I wanted to tell you about the Chud-" He began, before being interrupted.

"Not now Ron, trust me." Harry said, still not looking away. "I want to see Malfoy's face once this takes effect."

"Once what takes effect Harry? What are you talking about?" Ginny asked.

"Oh nothing. Just watch the Slytherins you three. Should be any second now." Harry smirked.

And it was. No sooner had Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned to look, when they noticed every Slytherin started to turn red. Deep red. Gryffindor red. Not only that, but all of their hair began to turn a brilliant Gryffindor gold. Snape was affected as well.

Malfoy was the first to notice. Looking around at his shockingly coloured house mates, he began to yell. Naturally, this attracted the attention of every single person in the Great Hall, who began to laugh uproariously.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked. "What did you do?"

"You aint seen nothing yet." Harry said, still grinning broadly. With a quick flick of his wrist, the robes of the Slytherins changed. Where once they were black with green and silver borders, now they were horrifying. They were a glittering gold, with large red polka dots adorning them. On the backs, they read 'We are Slimy Slytherins. Gryffindor Rules!'

"Harry! I would never of thought you would do such a thing!" Ginny said.

"Well, Ginny. That would be because you never knew I was the son of a Marauder." Harry replied.

"A Marauder? You mean those pranksters Fred and George idolize? Your father was one of them? Do Fred and George know?" Ginny queried.

"Nope. They have no clue. I'm planning to surprise introduce them to their idols at some point after Christmas. Well minus Wormtail of course." He said.

"Why not Wormtail?" Ginny asked.

"Don't ask that Ginny. Trust me, just don't pursue that question." Ron said.

"Wormtail was Pettigrew." Harry said shortly.

"Oh. Wait, you mean Ron and Hermione knew about the Marauders?" She asked.

"Yup. Although they don't know the half of what those guys did. Now, if you excuse me, I have to add the finishing touch." Harry said.

As he looked back towards the Slytherins, he saw they were all frantically trying to undo the effects of the spell, while all the other students, and some of the teachers, continued to laugh.

With another flick of his wrist, the ceiling of the Great Hall began to darken, until it turned the same red as the Slytherins. There, in bold golden writing, came the following words.

"The Lair of the Marauders has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware! -Bolt."

Upon reading the words, Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry, his eyes twinkling in amusement. McGonagall also looked at Harry, although she didn't look anywhere near as amused. In fact, her facial expression seemed to cry out; "Oh god! Now there's another one!" She looked like she was going to cry.

"Now," Harry said, turning to his friends, "if you excuse me, I fear I must make a hasty retreat."

He quickly ran from the hall, ignoring the loud yell that came from Snape as he read the message.

"POTTER!"

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Harry arrived at Charms, his only class for the day, fairly early that day. As soon as he arrived, Professor Flitwick approached him.

"Now, Harry. I would like to request that you refrain from any pranks while in my classroom. If you disturb my class, I may be forced to take points away." The tiny professor said.

"Of course professor." Harry responded.

"Excellent!" Said Flitwick, clapping his hands together. "However, I must say this. I was very fond of your father and his friends, and always enjoyed their pranks. I must say, you certainly seem more than capable at living up to their reputation. Ten points to Gryffindor for the marvelous charm work you did in that prank! Most impressive Mr. Potter!"

Harry grinned. "Thanks sir!"

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The rest of his day passed quickly. He spent most of it in the Lair, planning out future pranks. When dinner came around, he told Ron, Hermione, and Ginny that he needed to talk to them in private after the meal.

After eating, Harry led them to the Room of Requirement, which was currently looking like a throne room from a medieval castle.

'Wonder why it looks like this?' Ron thought, before turning his attention back to Harry.

"Now then. I'm sure you all have some questions as to why I have brought you here. And the answer to those questions is that I would like to offer you membership in the Marauders.

"Bloody Brilliant!" Said Ron. "I'm in. Where do I sign up?"

"I'm in too!" Cried Ginny.

"I don't know Harry." Said Hermione. "Me and Ron are Prefects, and I don't know if we should be doing this."

"C'mon Mione." Said Ron. "Remus was a prefect, and he was a Marauder. He even became a teacher! Maybe you'll be like him!"

"In that case, I'm in!" Said Hermione, still somewhat nervously.

Grinning, Harry motioned for them all to kneel down before the throne. Then he drew one of his swords, and stood in front of Ron.

"Ronald Weasley, I hear by dub you a member of the Maruaders, with all rights and responsibilities that accompany the name. Your animagus form is a fox, so I name thee Swift. May thou be a good and true Prankster. Rise Mr. Swift!"

Harry quickly repeated the procedure with Hermione, naming her Feathers.

When he came to Ginny, he passed her a small potion bottle, saying it was the same potion they had used in their Transfiguration class. Quickly drinking it, her form was revealed to be a panther. However, Harry couldn't help but notice while she was a panther, she seemed to flicker a bit, but he quickly passed it off as his imagination. He named Ginny Huntress.

"Now, what I am about to show you is the most closely guarded of our secrets." He said, as he led them out the door, and down the hall.

"Welcome," he said, as he stopped next to a portrait, "to the Lair."

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The next day was Saturday, and Gryffindor was holding its tryouts. Harry knew that Death Eaters would attack him today, but he didn't think it would be anything he couldn't handle. He would easily be able to protect himself from their curses, and they wouldn't stand a chance against him in physical combat. He was only worried about them harming others, in particular, Ginny.

When they made it out to the Quidditch Pitch, Harry was shocked to see most of the student population, as well as numerous Professors, were there.

"What the bloody hell is going on here Professor," He asked McGonagall. "Do you want everyone to see our new chasers before we even start practice?"

"I'm sorry Harry," She responded. "But there's nothing we can do. They have every right to watch if they want."

"Damn. Oh well." Said Harry before turning to the waiting Gryffindors. "Alright you lot, everyone who's trying out, go do some warm up flying. Everyone else, take a seat in the stands."

Harry waited while all the Gryffindors got seated, and by the time they were done, the Gryffindors trying out had completed their warm up.

"Okay you lot, here's what we're going to do. One at a time, you will each be taking shots on Ron. The three who get the most in out of twenty, get the positions." He said simply.

Harry quickly flew up to a good height, where he could observe easily, and signaled the first would-be chaser to go.

By the end of the tryouts, it was clear who were the best. Ginny Weasley, Colin Creevey, and Seamus Finnagin were beyond a doubt better than the rest. Ginny had managed to score 19 out of her twenty, while Colin and Seamus both got 18. The next best only managed 13.

Harry was nearly 100 feet in the air at the end, and when he was about to fly down to congratulate the three winners, he noticed someone had let the snitch out. All other thoughts were driven from his head as he quickly began to speed after it at top speed. Those thoughts included the need to watch for the Death Eaters.

So it was, that Harry was flying very high up, at extremely high speeds, and away from the watching students in the stands, when suddenly he felt his Firebolt twitch, as if hit by a spell. Coming back to reality, he quickly looked down. Below him, and about 50 metres from where he was, stood three Death Eaters, with wands out.

He barely had time to register this before his Firebolt stopped extremely suddenly. Caught off guard by this, Harry wasn't able to do anything as he was flung from his broom, catapulting forward at high speed.

Harry wasn't concerned, as he watched the ground grow steadily nearer. He could just turn into a phoenix and fly away! Closing his eyes, and willed himself to change, and opened his eyes.

'Oh bloody hell.' He thought, as he saw he was still in his normal body. 'I really, REALLY hate anti-animagus wards."

Ginny screamed as she saw Harry fly from his broom. She knew there was nothing she, or any of the others watching, could do to slow Harry's descent. They were too far away to be able to accurately cast a spell. They could only watch in horror as Harry flew through the air, and began to fall towards the Death Eaters who stood waiting below, wide smirks on their faces, as they watched The-Boy-Who-Lived plummet towards impending death.

Oops. A cliffie. Oh I'm so sorry about that. I didn't mean for that to happen! Insert evil grin here. I guess Harry's just going to fall to his death. Oh well. I guess Voldemort wins.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Angel's Flight, Elven Might**

To the Death Eaters below, it looked like Harry had gone insane. They watched as a wide smirk spread across his face. 'What kind of person would smirk when faced with a painful death? There's no way he can save himself.' They thought to themselves.

So you can understand how horribly shocked they, and all the others watching were when suddenly Harry's descent was halted.

Halted by the wings that had burst forth from his back. Brilliantly white angelic wings spread out from his back, the tips of the feathers glinting gold. They beat powerfully, as Harry slowly lowered himself to hover before the Death Eaters, who stood wide eyed in shock.

Harry smirked again. "Bet you weren't expecting that were you?" He laughed at the stunned Death Eaters. "You really shouldn't have done that. Now I'm going to have to hurt you!"

The Death Eaters stood still, looking at each other nervously.

Harry spread his arms out wide, his wings still beating powerfully. White light began to form in his palms, spreading quickly to encompass his entire body. His hair began to dance, as if blown by an invisible wind, his eyes glowing brightly. The light flared brightly around him, before tendrils of it reached out from him slowly, as if searching for something. The tendrils of the shining light briefly swept around him, before locking on, and reaching out towards the Death Eaters. They stood still in terror, as the light slowly surrounded them. Then, the white light around Harry burst forth, surging along the lines that connected it to the Death Eaters, and flowing into their bodies.

When the light began to fade, all that remained of the Death Eaters were their robes. The watching students noticed the light slowly fading, all except for two tendrils, which seemed to point straight towards the shadows of the forest. Harry's head jerking in the direction they pointed, his eyes searching the darkness.

To most of those watching, it seemed that Harry had simply pulled a bow out of thin air, although a select few noticed Harry reach towards his back shortly before the bow appeared, and flick his wrist as if casting, or removing, a spell.

Faster than lightning, Harry had an arrow drawn, and had fired into the forest. Harry watched as his arrow sped unerringly towards its target, who failed to move in time. This Death Eater had been out range when Harry had used his Elven Aura to take out the other three, but it had still sensed the evil the Death Eater emanated.

The Death Eater was pinned to a tree by an arrow to the chest, followed shortly by another that none had seen Harry fire.

Harry didn't even watch the Death Eater breathe his last. His eyes were already scanning the forest again, searching for the other he had sensed. 'Damn,' he thought. 'The rat escaped.'

For indeed, it seemed that Wormtail had escaped while Harry had been busy with the other.

Harry pulled a horn from around his neck, and gave it a loud blast. It was the same horn he had sounded before, the traditional victory call of the elves.

The remaining tendrils slowly faded away, and Harry slowly lowered himself back down to the ground. He looked towards the watching students and teachers, who were all staring at him in awe. Quickly folding his wings back into his back, he began to walk towards them.

Upon reaching them, he cleared his throat, and began to speak. "What? All royal elves have wings." He said, perfectly calmly, although his eyes shone with amusement. "Anyway, I would like to congratulate all of those who tried out, but the new Gryffindor chasers are Ginny Weasley, Colin Creevey, and Seamus Finnagin. Congratulations."

And with that, he turned and began walking back towards the castle, with everyone still staring at him.

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That night at dinner, people were still talking about what had happened. It had taken Harry several hours to calm Ginny down, and assure her that he had never been in danger. Once she was certain that he was safe the whole time, she excitedly realized that she had become one of Gryffindors chasers.

"Oh Harry, thank you so much!" Ginny said, as she hugged him tightly. "How can I ever thank you?"

"You don't need to thank me Gin. You deserved it, you were the best one out there." He said. Then as an afterthought he continued. "Although, if you really think you just have to thank me, I'm sure we can think of something."

Ginny blushed, and looked up at him through her eyelashes, smiling wickedly, while Ron glared at him.

"Harry! What have I told you about saying things like that in my presence?" Ron cried.

"Ummm, don't?" Harry asked.

"Exactly. And don't you forget again." Ron said.

Ginny giggled, and went back to her meal.

Harry didn't mention to anyone the fact that he knew Wormtail had escaped. He knew that Wormtail had witnessed the Elven Aura, and it wouldn't be long before Voldemort would figure out how to shield against it. With that in mind, he approached Professor Snape after the meal.

"What do you want Potter?" Snape asked.

"I need to speak with you in private for a moment please professor. It's important." Harry answered.

Snape looked at Harry for a moment, as if trying to figure out if Harry was lying. "Very well. Follow me to my office."

Harry followed Snape into the dungeons, and into the potion master's office.

"Well Potter, what do you want?" Snape demanded.

"I need to know what forces Voldemort could bring to a battle. Everything. What sort of creatures fight for him, how many, and so on." Harry responded.

"What? Why?" Snape asked.

"Because I need to know what we're up against. If I need to bring it reinforcements, I need to know soon."

"Very well Potter." Said Snape, and he preceded to give Harry a detailed description of the Dark Lord's forces.

When he was finished, Harry whistled. "Damn, I didn't know he was that strong. It looks like im going to have to send some messages. Excuse me Professor." He said, as he quickly ran out of the room.

"_Rathi._" Harry mind called the unicorn, once he was sure no one was watching.

"_Yes Harry?_" The unicorn sent.

"_I need you to increase your activities. Voldemort's forces are greater than we thought, and we may need all the help you can get us. Also, I'd like you to try to find a large section of the forest that can be easily warded, and is well hidden._" Harry sent back.

"_Are you doing what I think you are? Is this for what I think it is?_" The unicorn asked.

"_Yes. The king told me that if I needed aid, all I had to do was ask, and I could have it. Well, we need it. I'm calling for reinforcements._" He sent.

"_Approximately what size? It may be difficult to find a suitable area unless I know._" The unicorn responded.

"_I'm going to call in a full War Party. The Strike Force is well equipped to deal with Voldemort's forces. I'm also going to call for a unit of mages, and healers. I cannot allow Voldemort to take the school. I want to keep them well hidden within the forest though. I don't want Voldemort to know that the school has been reinforced heavily. I'm going to bring only a handful of warriors into the school itself, that way Voldemort underestimates our available forces._" Harry sent.

"_Okay then. I'll start searching. When the War Party arrives, I'll guide them in._" Rathi sent.

"_Thanks_". Harry sent, before cutting the mental connection.

"_Apollo,_" Harry said, turning to the phoenix which was perched on his shoulder. _"I know you heard that. Take the message to the king. I want most of the war party to follow Rathi once arriving. However, I want about 15 warriors, and a few mages and healers to get here as soon as possible. I need to make sure the castle is defended until the full force arrives. Tell them to gate in to the forest, then approach the castle from there_."

"_At once my Prince._" Apollo said, before leaping into the air, and flying out a nearby window.

Harry watched him fly out over the forest, and sighed. For the first time in millennia, the elves would go to war.

The Forces of the Light marched to bring Justice to the world once again.

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The headmaster looked up at the sound of knocking at the door of his office.

"Yes? Come in."

The door opened, revealing his grandson. Albus smiled.

"Ahhh, Harry. What can I do for you?" He asked.

"I need permission to add a new wing to the castle." Harry answered.

"What? You can do that?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes. The castle responds to elven magic. I can alter it in any way." Harry replied.

"Oh. May I ask why you need to do so?" Albus asked.

"I'm calling in an elvish War Party to defend the school. I need to have somewhere for them to live and train." Harry answered.

"Okay then. That shouldn't be a problem." Albus said. "May I ask how many are in a war party?"

"A score of elves. They won't take up too much room, and you can be assured the castle will be well defended from everything but an all out attack by Voldemort." Harry said.

"That's great Harry. May I ask when the elves will be arriving?" Albus queried.

"Well, if Apollo delivered the message with the urgency I requested," Harry said, "tomorrow."

"That soon?" Albus asked. "How is that possible."

"Their going to use a gate to get from Falandais to the forest quickly. It's an elven method of travel, but it can only be used for smaller groups of elves. If we wanted to move a large group, we'd have to do it the normal way." He answered.

"Well then. I guess you'd better get to work, and I'd better get ready to inform the school tomorrow at breakfast. Goodnight Harry." Albus said.

"Goodnight sir." He answered, before leaving to get to work.

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When the school awoke the next morning, they were shocked to see out the windows a whole new section of Hogwarts. It looked as though it had always been there, but they knew it hadn't. Jutting out from the side of Hogwarts was a new wing. It looked as though it was a fortress itself. Massive walls encircled it, with high crenelations, and wide battlements. They hurried down to breakfast, hoping the Headmaster would explain what it was. As soon as all the students had arrived, the Headmaster stood, and addressed the students.

"You will all no doubt have noticed the new addition to Hogwarts. This is due to the fact that new defenders will be arriving at Hogwarts. A War Party of elves will be arriving here to defend our school from any who would harm it. This new addition will be the home, and training ground, for these new defenders. I would like to thank Harry Potter, or Prince Emrys, for bringing these elves to our aid." The Headmaster said.

"Wicked Harry!" Ron said, when the Headmaster had sat down. "There's going to be more elves here. This is so cool."

"Nice to be appreciated Ron. But the only thing I'm worried about is who their sending as the commanding officer. I'll still be the ranking elf at Hogwarts, but the commander will still hold a lot of power. I'm just worried that they'll send a certain elf as the commander. While I don't argue that she's an excellent leader, I'm afraid on behalf of the students, and some of the teachers, of what she'll do once here." Harry said, shivering.

"What do you mean Harry? Don't you like this elf?" Ginny asked.

"Oh no. I like her very much. I'm just worried about how the school will cope with someone like that here. Personally, I couldn't be more excited that she might be here, but objectively? I want to run away screaming if I see her in command." Harry said.

"Why Harry?" Ron asked. "What could be so bad about her?"

"You'll see Ron. If she is the commander, you'll see very soon." Harry answered.

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Breakfast had just finished when the sound of a blast from a horn rang from outside. Harry quickly stood, turning to the head table.

"That would be them." He said, before moving to the door. He hadn't gone more than half way across the length of the great hall before the doors were pushed open from beyond, and an elf entered, looking around.

"So this is Hogwarts is it? I've heard so much about it! I can't wait to have some fun." Then the female elf caught sight of Harry. "Bolt! How good to see you again!"

"Hello Allia! You don't know how glad I am too see you again." Harry said, grinning.

"Now, now, Harry, what have I told you? Call me Flame. After all, what's the point of having a Marauder title if you aren't going to use it?" The red-haired elf said.

The whole school, minus the newly initiated Marauders, paled at the news that there was now another Marauder within Hogwart's walls. They'd seen just the other day what one Marauder could do. They shuddered at the thought of what might be in store for them now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Trials of Love**

"Albus Dumbledore," Harry said, as he led the female elf to the head table. "I'd like you to meet Allia Vashi Daldanan, one of the best elves to ever wield a blade, since the Vanishing, and a fellow Marauder. Allia, this is the headmaster."

"Greetings to you headmaster. I bring with me fifteen warriors, a trio of healers, and an elven mage. We pledge ourselves to the defense of this school, and its students." Allia said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Where are your comrades?" The headmaster queried.

"They are waiting just outside. Would it be possible to have someone escort them to where they will be garrisoned? There are some things I need to discuss with the Prince in private." She said.

"Of course. I will escort them to the new wing myself." He answered.

"Thank you Albus," Harry said. "Come Allia, there is an office for you in the new wing. I'll lead you there now."

As Harry led Allia out of the great hall, he paused briefly to ask Ron, Hermione and Ginny to meet him in the Lair as soon as he was finished talking with the elves.

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"Is this room well warded?" Allia asked as the entered the office.

"Yes. No one will be able to overhear our conversation." Harry replied.

Good. The War Party was being mobilized as we left Faladais. They should be ready to march in about a week. It will take the full force approximately one month to get here, although the company of Wind Riders will be here a week earlier. They will be responsible for preparing the camp for when the full force arrives. I'll inform you as soon as they are in position." She said.

"Great. That's sooner than I was expecting. So tell me, do I know any of those you brought with you? Harry asked.

"Yes. Sadly, your cousin Eryn was unable to come, as she was sent on patrol just a few days ago. You do know a few of the warriors though, you trained with some of them; Evan, Elian, and Lanis. Melnan is the head healer." She said, before pausing.

"And the mage?" He asked.

"Emrys, I am sorry." She said, with sympathy evident in her eyes. "She was the only one ready to come on such short notice."

"No! Please no! Tell me your joking?" He asked desperately.

"Emrys, I'm sorry. There really was no one else available." She said.

"Dammit! She can't have been the only one. What about Olvyn?" He asked.

"He's too old to gate, you know that. He's coming with the rest. Most of the mages are currently on patrol. The unit Olvyn will be leading will only get back to the city two days before the War Party heads out. Astara was the only one available to come right away."

"But she thinks she loves me! She spent the entire time I was in Falandais trying to seduce me! She stalked me everywhere." He said, shuddering.

"I know Emrys. But she's also a highly skilled mage. It'll be okay, I swear to you. We're on assignment, she'll be professional." Allia said reassuringly.

"I hope so Allia, I truly do." He said dully.

"Anyway, why don't you give me a tour?" She said, changing to a more happy subject.

"Sure," he said, smiling faintly. "Let's start here."

"Here?" It's just an office isn't it?" She asked.

Harry grinned. "Not at all. Activate Tactical Map." He said, in an authoritative voice.

The already large room expanded as a large table rose up in the centre of the room. The table seemed to be covered in hundreds of little lines.

"Bloody hell!" Allia gasped in awe. "That's one heck of a Marauder's Map." And it was.

It was much more detailed than the original, giving more description of people shown on it. Harry had taken the time to ensure that nothing like what happened in his fourth year would happen again. If someone was using polyjuice potion, or in animagus form, it would say so. It had also been expanded to include the new wing, Hogsmeade, and a mile into the forest.

"It's wired to the school's alarms. If it detects a hostile force of over twenty people or creatures, the alarms will sound. It can also be used as a communication device. To talk to someone, simply place your finger on the dot representing the person you wish to speak to, and you can talk to them as if they were standing right next to you. It has also been designed to alert the both of us if it detects anything that is questionable." Harry said.

"Wow, impressive." Allia said. "Now, how about a tour? When we're done, I'll introduce you to the troops, and we can brief them."

"Okay." Harry said, as he led he out into the hallway.

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"Okay, here's the situation." Harry said, as he addressed the elves, Allia standing at his side. "As far as anyone else knows, we are the only elves defending Hogwarts. The forces that will be stationed within the forest shall remain a complete secret, even from the headmaster. No one must find out the true size of the elven forces that will be in the area. I want the enemy to be cocky and overconfident when he eventually attacks. If anyone asks, you are a war party. Now, I want two pairs of elves patrolling the grounds at all times, and another pair patrolling the school. The rest of the warriors are off-duty, but expect to be called upon if necessary. I want at least one healer on duty at all times as well. Astara, you are to stay in the school at all times. I want you to be ready to cast defensive spells over the students if an attack comes. Do not worry about offensive spells against the enemy, that will be done by the mages with the main force."

"Of course my prince." The mage answered. "I'll do whatever you wish."

Harry winced, giving her a forced smile.

"Anyway, over the next few days, I want you all to become familiar with the school, and surrounding area. That is all for now."

The warriors and healers quickly filed out of the room, although Astara remained.

"Hello again Prince Emrys." She said, as she approached him slowly. "I have missed you most horribly."

"Ah, Astara," Harry began nervously. "As much as I would like to stay and chat, I've promised to introduce Allia to a few people." He finished, as the quickly fled the room, pulling Allia along with him.

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"So, who was it you wanted me to meet?" Allia asked, as he led her through the halls.

"Well, you know how you said it was a shame I would be the only Marauder at Hogwarts?" Harry said.

"Yes..." She replied.

"Well, I want to introduce you to the newest three Marauders." Harry said.

"Excellent! I can't wait to meet them." Allia said enthusiastically.

"Well, they should be waiting in the Lair, and since we're almost there, you won't have to wait long." Harry said, as he led her to the entrance.

Saying the password, Harry led Allia into the Lair. Almost immediately, he noticed the three figures talking quietly on the couches he hadn't noticed when he first visited the Lair. It seemed the Lair was equipped to be a home away from home for the Marauders. It had several large couches as well as a fireplace to one side. Leading Allia to the couches, he cleared his throat to attract the talking trio's attention.

"Flame, I'd like you to meet Swift, Feathers, and my girlfriend, Huntress. Guys, this is Flame, the one who taught me most of what I know." Harry said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Especially you young Huntress. Bolt here was quiet popular amongst the females at Falandais. I am shocked to see he has finally settled down!" Allia said teasingly.

"Please don't go there Allia." Harry said grimacing. "Anyway, I think it would be appropriate for the Marauders to strike tonight at dinner. So, why don't we get to the planning?" Harry asked.

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That night at dinner, the Marauders were anxiously awaiting the start of their prank. Flame, sitting at the table that had been placed beneath the head table for the elves, would be responsible for the teachers. Bolt would do the Slytherins, Swift the Hufflepuffs, Feathers the Ravenclaws, and Huntress would be targeting the Gryffindors. The Marauders as a whole had decided that since this was their first group prank, they would target the entire school. No one would be spared.

At the given signal, the Marauders struck. In a flash, where once students and teachers sat, now sat beasts. In place of the Gryffindors, minus the Marauders of course, were lions. The Ravenclaws had been transfigured into eagles, the Hufflepuffs badgers, and the Slytherins snakes. Each teacher became the animal that represented the house they were most connected to. There were two exceptions. The first was Professor Dumbledore. He had been changed into a phoenix. The other exception was Draco Malfoy. Harry smirked as he saw what Malfoy had become. In place of the Malfoy heir now sat a ferret. A brilliant pink ferret. And it was bouncing.

Had it not been for Flame and Bolt's expertise, the prank would not have been possible. There was no way the other three would have been able to manage such complex transfiguration, and with such numbers. Therefor, Bolt and Flame had designed a potion which would cause the transfiguration, and all the others had to do was cast the trigger spell, and it would take effect. A simple visit to Dobby prior to the meal, and the prank was easy.

As with the last prank, a message was left. Golden writing formed in the air in the centre of the great hall, spelling the words; "Now that's the way to show House pride! Good for you. Love from the Marauders -Bolt, Swift, Feathers, Huntress, and Flame."

"Right then guys, I think now might be a good time for us to leave." Harry said, turning to his fellow Marauders.

Nodding, the others followed him out of the room, grinning broadly.

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My Lord, I'm... I'm sorry. We failed to kill Potter." Wormtail stuttered as he addressed the Dark Lord. "He used some sort of strange magic to kill the others. It seemed to be attracted by their evil. I don't know what it was."

"Not to worry Wormtail. Lucius managed to find a moldy old book hidden in the depths of the ministry that was written several thousand years ago. It talks of a race of beings with an Aura that could destroy all evil it encountered. I believe this is what you encountered. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a way to shield against." The Dark Lord said.

"My Lord, there is something else you must know. It seems that Potter has brought about a score of elves to defend Hogwarts." Wormtail said.

"I am not worried about a few measly little elves. Now tell me, how are the plans progressing for the attack?" Voldemort asked.

"They are going well, Diagon Alley will fall on Halloween my lord. I swear it." Wormtail replied.

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Harry was awoken the next morning by a wave of icy cold water being poured over his head.

"And a good morning to you too Flame." Harry said, without opening his eyes. "You know, I had almost gotten used to not waking up wet."

Allia grinned down at him. "Well, we can't have that can we?"

"How did you get in here anyway?" Harry asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Dumbledore's given us free run of the place!" She said smirking.

"God help the Slytherins!" Harry exclaimed.

Allia grinned even wider, if that was possible. "Indeed! Now get up, we're going to train!"

Harry groaned as he got up out of bed.

He followed her down to the Quidditch Pitch, were the other elves had already gathered to begin their morning rituals.

"Right then you lot!" Allia cried. "Let's get to training."

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Ron woke up a while later, but still earlier than he was used to. Grumbling to himself as he climbed out of bed, he took a quick glance out the window.

"Bloody hell!" He shouted, waking up the other boys.

"Whatsa matter Ron?" Seamus asked sleepily.

"Harry and the other elves are down on the Quidditch Pitch, and it looks like Harry and Allia are trying to kill each other!"

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Harry and Allia continued their sword fighting, not even noticing the crowd that was steadily growing. It seemed that the Gryffindors had told the whole school, and they had gathered to watch the fight.

Harry and Allia continued for ten minutes, impressing those watching with their skill, before Harry at last noticed the watching crowd. He paused slightly mid-swing, frozen in shock that they were being watched. Allia, of course, took advantage of this, and quickly disarmed him.

"Bad Emrys! Don't lose your concentration like that in the middle of a fight. It's not good for your life expectancy." Allia laughed. "Alright troops, that's enough for today," she said, turning to the other elves. "Get yourselves cleaned up, and to your assigned positions.

The crowd watching quickly dispersed, although Harry noticed Ron, Hermione and Ginny stay behind. He signaled that he'd talk to them after a quick shower, and then rushed to the locker rooms. The elves on the other hand, made their way back to their section of the castle, no doubt to clean up there.

None of them noticed that Astara wasn't with them as they re-entered the castle.

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Harry had only just finished his shower, and was in the process of getting dressed when he was suddenly thrown back into the wall, and a pair of lips were pressed against his. He was so stunned by this that he simply stood in shock as Astara kissed him.

It was this that Ginny, who had grown concerned when Harry was in the locker room for so long, walked in on. She stood in shock as she watched her boyfriend kissing another girl. Then she became angry.

"Harry, how could you! I thought you cared about me! I HATE YOU! I never want to talk to you again!" She yelled at him, before storming out of the room.

Regaining his senses, Harry pushed Astara off him, and took off after her.

"Ginny wait! You don't understand. I love you!" He called.

Ginny turned around and glared at him. "How dare you say that? I can't believe I ever thought I loved you! You're nothing but a dirty lying bastard!" She yelled in his face, before giving him a resounding slap, and running off.

Harry sunk to his knees as realization sunk in. He'd lost her. Burying his face in his hands, he began to cry.

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This was how Allia found him, when she went looking for him when he didn't show up at breakfast.

"Emrys? What happened?" She asked.

"Astara." He said simply, looking up at her with a tear stained face.

"What did she do?" Allia growled. Harry was like a brother to her, and if that mage had hurt him...

"She... she kissed me. And Ginny walked in." He said.

"Oh Emrys. I'm so sorry. Don't worry, I'm sure if you explain it too her-"

"No. She made it quite clear she didn't want to talk to me. I feel like my life has no point anymore. When she said she didn't love me, it felt like something had been ripped from my soul." He said.

Allia's eyes narrowed suspiciously. That sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"Come on Emrys. Lets go to my office, I'll make you some tea to help you calm down." Allia said, as she pulled him to his feet.

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The next three weeks were pure hell for Harry. He tried to talk to Ginny, to explain, but she merely turned her back on him. Ron wasn't speaking too him, and neither was Hermione. His life was miserable. Allia, and the other elves were the only ones who supported him, so he spent most of his time not in class with them. He had sunk into a stupor, and nothing Allia could do seemed to be able to bring Harry out of his depression. He never talked anymore, and all he did was stare blankly at people when they talked to him. Allia was beginning to get very worried.

It was the first of October when in suddenly came to a head. Harry had been sitting with th e elves at their table for dinner one evening, staring listlessly at his plate, when suddenly he had felt the urge to look at Ginny. Lifting his gaze, he met her hate filled eyes. Suddenly he felt as though all her hate and rage had been thrust into him. Standing unsteadily, he was shaken by the force of the emotions running through him. Then he collapsed.

Allia had been watching him with worried eyes. She had seen him look over at Ginny, and then suddenly, his eyes had been filled with emotions that we're clearly not his. She watched as he shook with the strength of the emotions running through him, then paled with sudden dread when he collapsed. If this was what she thought it was...

"Melnan! Get over here now!" She cried for the healer.

"What's wrong? Did he simply pass out from stress?" The healer asked when he made his way to her side, his words being heard by the entire hall.

"Look into his eyes Melnan. What does that look like? Read his emotions. Tell me, is this what I pray it's not?" She asked, dread filling her voice.

Confused, the elven healer bent down next to the prone elf. His eyes quickly scanned the young elf's body, reading his personal aura.

Suddenly the elf paled visibly, and leapt to his feet, turning horrified eyes to Astara, who was watching.

"What have you done you fool! Were you trying to doom us all? He is Lorinagalea!" The elf cried.

The students and teachers watched confused as the entire contingent of elves leapt to their feet, all turning horrified gazes to the suddenly very pale Astara. In the sudden angry yells that erupted from the elves, those listening could only make out a few select phrases.

"How could you!"

"You would interfere with the Light's Will?"

and,

"How could you be so foolish?" Were the three that stood out the most.

Those watching were stunned. Here were the normally cool elves, who never seemed to lose their calm exterior, lashing out at one of their fellows in supreme anger. They watched as Allia, visibly striving to contain her rage, approached the stunned mage.

"I warned you. I warned you against trying anything. I warned you against continuing the foolishness you did in Falandais. But you didn't listen. You thrust yourself upon him anyway, and now look what has become of it. You will be returning to Falandais immediately. Your judgement is obviously lacking. If the King and Queen do not strip you of your powers for this alone, you can rest assured you will never be on assignment again. I can promise you this though. If this is not repairable, if you have broken the Lorinagalea, there will be no doubt that the King will strip you of your powers, with the full support of the Mage Council, and you will be cleaning the stalls of the stables for the rest of your life. Before you leave however, you will attempt to right the wrong you have committed. You will tell the truth."

Astara nodded meekly before approaching the Gryffindor table. She paused when she reached Ginny.

"You need to know that Emrys did nothing to betray you. It is my fault. I kissed him. He didn't kiss me. I had been trying to get his attention since he first came to Falandais. It is not his fault. Do not blame him." She said.

Ginny nodded stunned. Harry hadn't betrayed her? He really did love her? Oh god, and she'd been so horrible to him for the past three weeks. She leapt to her feet, and ran over to where he was.

"Harry? Harry, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't trust you! Please wake up." She cried, before turning to look up at Allia. "What's wrong with him?"

Allia looked down at her in sympathy. "Come Ginny. There are some things you need to know. Until you do, you cannot aid Emrys. You are the only one who may be able to help him, if its not already too late." She said, as she led Ginny towards her office, with the rest of the elves still standing around horrified, while Melnan the healer conjured a stretcher to take Harry to the healing room in the new wing.

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"Ginny, the first thing you must understand," Allia began, once the were in her office. "Is that Harry was horrified when he found out that Astara was the mage I had brought. She had stalked him for the entire time he was at Falandais, and he couldn't stand her."

Ginny nodded. She felt very guilty.

"Now comes the complicated part. When Harry passed out, I believe he was feeling the emotions that you were feeling about him. If you felt anger, he felt that anger."

Ginny nodded. "When he looked at me, I felt extremely angry at him. I wanted to see him hurting. Do you mean its my fault he passed out?"

"Yes. But not in the way you think. It was not simply him fainting. You need to know this; amongst our people, there is something called Lorinagalea, life bonding. It is when a couple is destined to be together. When it is the Will of the Light that those two be together. Interfering with a Lorinagalea bond is considered one of the worst things an elf could do. It is to go against the very will of the Light. If a Lorinagalea bond is broken by an elf, it dooms our entire race to being without the Light's guidance for a century. To a people who are so closely tied to the Light, this would be a curse most foul. I have never seen the bond between an elf and a human, but that may simply be because it is extremely rare. In the past thousand years, there has been only one Lorinagalea bond. This was between Emrys's parents."

"So you're saying we have this bond?" Ginny asked.

"There is no doubt about it. That is why Emrys is now as he is. When you felt such anger towards him, especially a desire to see him hurt, it strained, and possibly broke, the bond. This has sent him into a coma. The only way to wake him from this coma is for you to enter into his subconscious and bring him out. This will only work if the bond has only been strained, but not broken. If it has been broken, then nothing will bring him out." Allia said gravely.

Ginny gasped. "Of course, I'll do whatever I can!"

"Thank you Ginny. I can only hope that it will be enough." Replied Allia.

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Ginny approached the bed where Harry lay still. She was scared at how still he was. Even in the past when he was in the hospital wing, he wasn't this still.

"Harry?" She whispered quietly. "I'm sorry. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." She said, before looking to Allia.

"I'm going to cast the spell that will take you into his mind. You must convince him to return."

The elf said seriously.

Ginny nodded, and Allia cast the spell.

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"Harry?" Ginny called, as she looked around. She appeared to be at the Dursley's. "Harry where are you?"

There was no answer. She walked slowly through the hallway, intending to make her way up the stairs to Harry's bedroom. She stopped when she heard a voice coming from under the stairs. Opening the cupboard door, she gasped at what she saw.

It was Harry, but not the Harry she knew. This one appeared to be only seven years old. He was sitting with his back to the wall, and was hugging his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth, crying.

"No one loves me. No one cares. No one loves me. No one cares." Were the words he kept repeating, in time with his rocking.

"Harry? It's me, Ginny." She said gently.

He looked up.

"Hullo Ginny. What are you doing here?" He asked sullenly.

"I've come to get you. You need to come back." She whispered.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because people need you. I need you." She said quietly.

"That's all I am to people. A tool. No one loves me. No one cares about me. They just want me to kill Voldemort. You didn't know that did you? That's what the prophecy says. I'm the only one who can kill him. No one cares about me, they just want me to do a job." He said.

"Harry that's not true. People do care for you. I do care for you." She said.

"You? You hate me. I know that much." He said.

"No Harry, I don't hate you. I love you. I just screwed up. I'm sorry for not trusting you. Please come back." She pleaded.

"No. Just go live your life without me." He said.

"I can't live without you Harry. I won't live without you. I won't do it." She said abruptly.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, what makes you think I would want to live without you. If you don't wake up, what makes my life worth living? What's there for me to live for?" She asked.

"I...Ginny you...you really mean it?" He asked hopefully.

"I do Harry. I really do. I love you. I can't live without you. I need you." She said.

"I...I love you too Ginny." He said, before everything faded away.

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Ginny jerked back to consciousness. She was sitting beside Harry's bed, with her head resting on his chest. Looking up at him, she saw his eyes slowly fluttering open.

"Harry?" She asked.

"Gin? I'm so sorry Gin. I didn't want to-" He began.

"Hush Harry." She interrupted, silencing him with a finger to his lips. "It's okay. I love you more than anything Harry Potter."

He looked down at her.

"I love you too Ginny Weasley."

With that, he pulled her face up to his, and kissed her gently on the lips.


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, since this is the tenth chapter, I'm just going to re-do my disclaimer so noone gets confused.

I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER! (sadly)

**Chapter 10: Never Annoy a Marauder**

Harry slowly got out of the bed. Kissing Ginny was... disorienting. But in a good way. Then he remembered whose fault it had been.

"Where is she?" He growled at Allia.

"Umm, who?" She asked innocently.

"Astara." He spat.

"Er... why do you want to know?" She asked.

"Because when I find her, I'm going to make her regret living." He said, as he fondled the blade of one of his many daggers.

"I sent her back to Falandais. She'll be punished there." She said.

"When did she leave?" He asked.

"Long enough ago that you can't catch her Emrys. Which I'm decidedly glad for, seeing how angry you currently are." She said.

"Wanna bet? I'll catch her, if I have gate to Falandais and give her a nice welcome there." Harry said grimly.

"Harry, no." Ginny begged, clinging to his arm. "I don't want you to do something you will regret later. Please, just stay here?"

Harry looked down at her, and felt his anger slowly drain out of him, to be replaced by the love he felt for her. He nodded to her slowly.

"Excellent. It's good to finally have you back Harry, you haven't been yourself for a while." Allia said, clapping her hands together.

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling that your not saying that out of concern for me?" He asked.

Allia looked at him innocently, before dropping to her knees before him, her hands out before her like a beggar. "Please Bolt! It's been three weeks without any pranks! I'm going into withdrawal. I'm starting to get all twitchy."

Harry and Ginny laughed. "Get up Flame, we'll do a prank." Harry said.

Allia jumped to her feet. "Yea! Let's go." She said, dragging the two of them towards the Lair.

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As soon as they entered the Lair, Ron and Hermione jumped up to greet them.

"Oh Harry, we're so sorry. We shouldn't have been so mean to you." Hermione said.

"Ya mate, we're sorry. So what happened?" Ron asked.

Harry sat them down, and preceded to explain Lorinagalea, and what it meant.

"So let me get his straight," Ron said, when he had heard everything. "You two are destined to be together?"

"Pretty much." Harry said. "Sort of like god saying 'let these two be together.' And it was done. And it is good." He finished solemnly.

Allia snorted. "You've been listening to Feadir too much Emrys. It's stained your mind."

"Feadir?" Ginny asked.

"He's my uncle." Harry said.

"He's also the High Priest. A great guy really, except he quotes things from the Holy Sacrament of the Light far too often." Allia said.

"You have an uncle?" Ron asked.

"Ya. My grandparents on my father's side live in Falandais. Feadir is my father's brother." Harry said.

"But why didn't they take you in when your parents died?" Hermione asked.

"Its complicated." Harry said, ending that line of questioning.

"We have more important things to be thinking about people!" Allia cried.

"Like what?" Hermione asked, still looking worriedly at Harry.

"Pranks of course!" Allia answered.

At this, Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, an evil grin spreading slowly across his face.

"Uh oh. I don't like that look." Ron said.

"Ron, Hermione," Harry began. "I may have forgiven you, but I simply can't let you off the hook that easily. Therefor, I have a wonderful plan for this next prank. You two get to be the sacrificial lambs!" He said, before going into a detailed description of the prank.

When he finished, Allia was rolling on the floor with laughter. Ginny, who was quite comfortably sitting on Harry's lap, had her face pressed against Harry's shoulder, her whole body shaking with laughter.

Ron and Hermione were pale as ghosts.

"You can't be serious!" Ron exclaimed.

"No, Sirius is my godfather, I'm Harry." Harry replied with a grin. "But yes, I am serious. You have a choice, either be a victim in this prank, or suffer my wrath for the remainder of the year."

"Fine, but what about Ginny?" Hermione asked. "Why doesn't she have to do anything humiliating?"

"Well, she is a lot prettier than the two of you, especially you Ron, and she makes a very comfortable lap warmer. Plus I love her." He said.

Ginny turned her head around, and stuck her tongue out at her brother and his girlfriend. Then, grinning mischievously up at Harry, she began to wiggle around in his lap, pressing herself back into him.

"A good lap warmer am I? Should I take that as a compliment?" She asked.

"Yes." Harry gasped. "But if you keep that up, I'm liable to pass out."

"And why might that be?" She asked wickedly.

"Lack of blood to my brain." He said, and she smiled slyly at him.

It took Ron a moment to understand what that meant.

"Ewwww! Stop that! We'll do the damn prank, just NEVER EVER say anything like that in my presence again. PLEASE!" He pleaded.

"Sure thing Ron. Now, let's go set up this prank!" Harry said.

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The next morning, the prank was set. As soon as Draco Malfoy entered the great hall, Pansy Parkinson by his side, everyone froze.

Malfoy was wearing an incredible short schoolgirl skirt, and a very tight blouse. Pansy, on the other hand, was wearing a man's tuxedo. As they entered, they didn't seem to notice anything at all wrong.

They both approached the Gryffindor table, and everyone watched as Malfoy approached Ron, swaying his hips in what might be an attractive manner if it wasn't for the fact that he was a guy. Ron gulped. He knew what was coming. Meanwhile, Pansy approached Hermione.

When Malfoy reached Ron, he promptly dropped down on his lap, and wrapped his arms around Ron's neck.

"Oh Ronnie! I've loved you for ever and always! Please won't you be my boyfriend? Pretty please?" Malfoy asked in a high pitched voice, while Pansy did almost exactly the same thing with Hermione.

Ron gulped again. It wasn't over yet.

"Oh Ronnie! I know I can make you love me!" Malfoy said, before kissing Ron soundly on the lips. "That's just a taste of what I'm willing to offer!"

By now, the entire school, including many Slytherins, were howling with laughter. Harry was rolling on the floor, tears pouring from his eyes as he laughed so hard. Ginny was there next to him, laughing at the horrified expression on Ron and Hermione's faces. At the elven table, Allia was having fits with laughter, gasping for breath. The only person who didn't seem to be appreciating the humour was Snape, who glared at Harry.

That is, Snape was the only person to not find it funny until the spell ran out. Once Malfoy and Pansy had regained their senses, realization of what they had just done crashed into them, and they fled the hall. Of course, Malfoy didn't know how to run in heels, so he tripped on the way out, causing those in the hall to laugh even harder.

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That night was the full moon, and Harry had promised to help Remus rid himself of the werewolf curse. The spell required a certain sacrifice on the part of the caster, but Harry wasn't worried about that.

He spent the rest of the day setting up the room in which he would cast the spell. When Remus eventually arrived, it was only an hour before it would be too late for the spell to be cast.

"You're late." Harry said, as Remus entered the room.

"Sorry. I was talking to Allia. I never knew James had a protege. Such a fine woman!" Remus said.

"That she is." Harry agreed.

"I heard about your prank this morning. I must say, I am impressed. How ever did you manage to get Ron and Hermione to be a part of that?" Remus asked.

"I threatened them with more pranks on them." Harry said simply.

"Ahhh yes. James did that to us a few times." Remus said. "Ummmm. Are you sure about this spell? I haven't taken the potion, so if I transform, I might hurt you."

"Don't worry Remus. It will work. The only thing you need to worry about is your name." Harry said.

"What do you mean my name?" Remus asked confused.

"Well, you won't really be Moony anymore will you? Although you will still have the wolf form as an animagus form, it won't have anything to do with the moon." Harry replied, grinning.

Remus glared at him. "If you think I'm changing my nickname, you've got another thing coming Bolt."

"See, you don't have anything to worry about." Harry replied flippantly. "Now stand in the centre of this circle here. I'm about to cast the spell."

Remus moved into the centre of the circle indicated, while Harry stood just outside it. Remus didn't recognize the words that streamed from Harry's lips as he spoke, but he could feel the effects. The air seemed to grow heavy with power. It felt like something was pulling at him. He felt a part of him break away, and exit his body. Looking up, he saw a dark shadow above him. He watched as it slowly made its way towards Harry, before it threw itself into his body. Remus watched in shock as Harry collapsed to the floor.

Almost immediately, the feeling of power in the room left. Allia quickly entered the room, as she had been waiting just outside the room.

"What happened?" Remus asked, as he knelt next to Allia, who was tending to Harry.

"Emrys took the curse of the werewolf from your body. He absorbed it into himself." She said, not looking up.

"What?" Remus asked in disbelief. "He willingly became a werewolf just to free me? No, I can't accept that. I can't let James's son make that kind of sacrifice. Undo the spell. Reverse it, anything."

"Calm down Remus. Keep in mind, Emrys is an elf. It's not possible for an elf to become a werewolf. If a human had cast the spell, than the werewolf spirit would have taken over. An elf's spirit is far stronger than that of a human however, so Emrys will be able to defeat the werewolf in him. He will conquer it, instead of the other way around. He will not suffer from this." She said reassuringly.

"Oh. So, you mean it? I'm really not a werewolf anymore?" Remus asked.

"You're really not a werewolf anymore. Congratulations Remus." Allia said.

"Excellent! I have to go talk to Albus then. He said on September 1st when we found out that once my curse was gone, I could become the DADA teacher, as the one he hired wasn't up to the job. Albus said he just hired her as a temp until he found a better teacher, so now I can teach again!" Remus said, before running happily out the room.

Allia grinned watching him, and turned her attention back to Harry.

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It was a few hours later, and a large number of people had gathered around Harry. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were there, as well as Dumbledore, Remus, and Professor McGonagall.

"How is he?" Ginny asked, looking at her boyfriend with worry.

"He's doing well. The spell is a relatively new one, and has only been used twice. Both times the caster was out for a many as five hours, so he should wake up soon." Allia replied.

They all watched in silence until Harry slowly began to awaken.

"Did it work?" He asked, as he sat up, fumbling with his glasses. "Wait, of course it worked. I wouldn't have this damn headache if it didn't."

"Do you feel alright Harry?" Ginny asked.

"You mean other than the aforementioned headache? Ya, I'm fine." He replied.

Remus stepped forward.

"I can't thank you enough Harry. I...you... thank you." Remus said.

"No problem Moony." Harry replied.

"That's Professor Moony to you."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I'm your new DADA teacher." He said.

"That's great Professor Moony. Now will you all please go away, I'm really tired." Harry said, before his eyes drifted closed.

The others looked at him with concern, until Allia spoke up.

"That's normal. His body has been exhausted, the spell used requires a lot of power. Although, if any of you would like to see the floating Bolt light bulb, hang around. He's gonna start glowing soon." Allia said.

"All of you out! You know how embarrassed he would be if you saw that!" Ginny said.

"What about you Ginny?" Ron asked, as he turned to leave.

"I'm his girlfriend. I'm allowed to see him." She said. "Don't worry, I'll take you a picture." she whispered after him.


	11. Chapter 11

1**Chapter 11: The Wrath of the Elves**

The next day at breakfast, Dumbledore announced that a Halloween ball would be held. Harry smiled. At least this year he wouldn't have to worry about finding a date.

"So Ginny, can I assume you'll be my date? He asked her.

"I don't know... I'm sure I could find someone better." She teased.

Harry did a very good job in pretending to have a broken heart. So good in fact, that Ginny thought he really had believed her.

"Oh, Harry. I'm just joking. I would never go with anyone else!" She reassured him.

"Good! So, what should our costumes be?" He asked, grinning widely at her.

She realized then that he had gotten her back. "I don't know Harry. What would you recommend?" She replied.

"Well, I think you would look good in a ceremonial elven outfit. It would certainly constitute a costume." He said.

"Really?" She asked. "That's great! I'll have to ask Allia for some help."

"Good idea. Just be careful with anything she gives you." He said laughing.

He was interrupted from his thoughts of costumes by Apollo, who flew in and landed on his shoulder.

"_Harry, they've arrived_." the phoenix said simply.

"_Good. Go tell Allia, and tell her I'll meet her after dinner_." He told the phoenix.

"_Of course. Oh, and you'll be in for a pleasant surprise when you return to Falandais._" Apollo said.

"_What's that?_" He asked.

"_You'll see._" said the phoenix cryptically, before flying over to Allia, and landing on her shoulder briefly.

As soon as Apollo left her shoulder, she turned her head briefly towards Harry, and gave him an almost imperceptible nod of her head, before turning back to her meal.

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That evening, Harry told his friends that he was going to talk with Allia in her office after dinner, then quickly broke away from them. Running quickly through the halls, he entered the entrance hall mere moments before Allia.

They walked quicky towards the forest, where they were met by Rathi and Warwick, Allia's mount.

"Hello Harry. Get on, and we'll take you to the camp. Moonstar is nearby. He will make sure none follow you." the war unicorn said.

Harry smoothly leapt onto Rathi's back, while Allia mounted Warwick., then they plunged into the forest.

They sped through the trees for several minutes, before Harry noticed the first of the elven sentries, perched high in the trees. Soon the two unicorns slowed their pace as they approached the camp, bringing the camp slowly into view, revealing the elven war party in all its might. Six hundred elven warriors lay encamped in the woods, along with ten fully trained mages, and ten healers. Here was the force to defend Hogwarts when the attack eventually came. Here was the force to bring justice to the evil.

Harry and Allia made their way to the command tent in the centre of the camp, and nodded their greetings to the guards outside the tent, before entering.

The leaders of the elven camp had already been alerted to their presence, and so had gathered in the tent before the two had even sighted it. Three elves waited for them as they entered. The one on the left was dressed in the robes of a healer, while the one on the right was wearing rune covered robes that marked him a mage. The one in the centre was obviously a warrior, as he bore numerous blades upon his person.

"Greetings Prince Caldarain, and you Commander Daldanan. The Strike Force stands ready. We are yours to command." The grim looking elf in the centre said.

"Thank you Captain." Allia said. "It is good to see you again."

"You know the plan gentlemen," Harry began. "You are to remain here, and under no circumstances are you to reveal yourselves unless commanded by Allia or myself. We shall mind call you if you are needed."

"Very well my prince." The captain replied.

"Good. Here's a map of the area. I've marked where our beast allies are currently positioned. This map is the same as the map we have in the war room at the castle. It shows where people are, and if you need to talk to one, simply place your finger on the dot. This map has been altered so that you can only contact one of the elves at Hogwarts. We can't have you accidentally contact a student." Allia said.

"Olvyn, I'm going to need you to report to the school." Harry said.

"What? What about Astara?" The old mage asked.

"She's been sent back to Falandias. Ask Allia about why later, I'd rather not discuss it. You had best wait a while before coming though. It would look suspicious if you showed up so soon. It would be best if you arrived around Halloween, we can say it took you that long to travel to Hogwarts as Astara's replacement. Just mention that you were too old to gate, and no one will ask any questions." Harry said.

"Of course." Olvyn answered.

"How long will it take you to mobilize and get to Hogwarts when we call?" Allia asked.

"About an hour." Answered the Captain.

"Good. That's better than could be expected. Very well then. Make sure everyone keeps in shape, and be prepared. We'll contact you if you are needed." Harry said, before turning and leaving.

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The two elves returned to the school, and Harry went up to Gryffindor tower. Almost as soon as he entered, he was interrogated by his friends.

"Where were you Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I told you, I was in Allia's office." He said.

"No you weren't." Said Ron. "We went there, and you weren't there. We also saw you outside through the window."

"We talked in her office for a few minutes, then we went outside to inspect the wards. What's the problem?" He asked.

"You're lying Harry. I can feel it." Ginny said.

"Fine, you want the truth? I'm secretly gathering together an army to kill Voldemort and save the world."

Silence.

"I'm joking, geez. I visited Rathi, and spent some quiet time in the forest." He said. 'Which is the truth,' he thought. 'Just not the whole truth.'

They accepted that finally, and Harry kissed Ginny goodnight before following Ron up to bed. Ginny watched as he walked up the stairs. It still felt like he was keeping something from her.

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The rest of October passed quickly, and before anyone knew it, it was October 30th. Allia and Harry had been helping Ginny get her costume ready for the ball. She would be going in the traditional elven female ceremonial robes, and Harry would be going in the male version. The costumes were designed to look good together.

Harry said goodnight to Ginny that evening, and went to bed excited about the following day.

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"Well Wormtail? Is everything ready?" Voldemort asked.

"Yes, my lord. The troops will be in position when the time comes." Wormtail replied.

"Good. The attack will occur in the evening then, when everyone will be celebrating Halloween." The Dark Lord replied.

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Harry jerked out of bead Halloween morning sweating. 'Damn it! I don't know where they're attacking!" He swore to himself.

The quickly mind called Allia.

"_Allia, get the others together, we need to talk immediately._" He told her.

"_Right away Emrys. We'll meet you in the war room_." She replied.

Harry quickly got out of bed, and hurriedly dressed. He then ran out through the common room, making for Allia's office at top speed.

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"Okay, I know for a fact that an attack will come at some point this evening. The only problem is I don't know where. I do know it won't be here though." Harry said, addressing the other elves. "So here's the plan. You will all be attending the ball tonight, in an appropriate costume. Allia and myself shall do the same."

"What costume, Emrys?" Evan, one of the warriors, asked. He also happened to be one of Harry's former training partners, and a very good friend.

"Why, full battle uniform of course." Harry replied. "It's the best way we can all be ready to gate to wherever the attack is. We'll already be ready for a fight, and we'll have all our weapons with us."

"Full uniform?" Allia asked. "Are you sure Emrys? We may scare some of them."

"They've seen me in almost full uniform already. I'm sure they won't be scared. After all, they've grown used to you, and you can just say it's a costume." Harry assured her.

"That sounds like a good plan then." She replied. "What about the war party? Will we need to call in them?"

"Hopefully we won't have to. I think the best thing we can do would be if any of us get injured, then that person gates back to the Camp, and have one of the warriors there gate back to the fight. That way there will never be more elves at the fight then there should be. I'm fairly certain that no one will realize that different elves are fighting. Especially when we're all dressed alike. Once the fight is over, we'll all gate back to the Camp, regroup, then return to the school. You must remember, the only healing you should receive while in Camp is to prevent life threatening, or crippling injuries. It would look odd if we returned without a scratch. " Harry said.

"How will we know when the attack comes?" Someone asked.

"My scar will tell me. We'll know mere moments after it starts." Harry answered.

"Okay then." Allia said. "Everyone get ready. Tonight, we fight."

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Harry sat down at breakfast next to Ginny. She must have noticed the worry in his eyes, because she looked at him with concern.

"Harry? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing Ginny. I wouldn't want to worry you." He said. "Just so you know, I've had to alter my costume a bit. I'm going in battle uniform now. Don't ask why."

"Alright. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but as long as you are there, I'll be happy." She told him.

He grinned falteringly at her. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he may not be there for very long.

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He waited next to Ron that evening. Ron was going as Julius Caesar, and Hermione was going as Cleopatra. It was Hermione's idea of course. Harry didn't even think Ron knew who he was supposed to be. His thoughts were confirmed when Ron opened his mouth.

"Who am I again? Some salad guy?" He asked.

"You're the Emperor of Rome." Harry told him.

"Oh. Okay. What are you going as? All I can see is that damn cloak." Ron said.

Harry, who was wearing the same cloak he wore when he had arrived shrugged. "You'll find out." Was all he said.

Hermione was first to come down the stairs. Ron gaped at her. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Harry stood there impatiently, looking urgently at the stairs, waiting for Ginny.

"She'll be down in a second." Hermione told him, as she left with Ron. "We'll meet you down there."

Harry nodded, not paying much attention. His attention was solely focussed on the breathtaking figure that was making her way gracefully down the stairs.

Ginny took his breath away. He'd seen numerous elves dressed in those same clothes while in Falandais, but Ginny seemed to fit them better than any elf. It was as though the ceremonial designs of the elves had been made with her in mind.

The flowing gown clung to her petite form. It seemed to dance with a life of its own, the bottom hem swirling as if caught in a breeze when there was none. The tiara she wore, which on most elven ladies clashed with their hair, fit perfectly with her fiery red hair. An elven gemstone, a firestone, rested in the centre, sparkled in the light.

"Ginny, you... wow." He said in awe.

She blushed prettily. "Wow yourself. All you're wearing is a cloak?" She asked.

"No. Here, I'll take it off." He replied.

He swung the cloak of his shoulders, revealing what lay underneath. He was wearing the same dark green pants, and tight shirt he had worn when he arrived. Over the shirt, however, he was wearing a glittering silver vest of chainmail. Over the chainmail he wore a tabard with a Golden Gryphon on it, clutching a sword in its front paws. Over its head hovered a Phoenix Lord, which had its wings spread, covering the width of the tabard. Upon the blade the Gryphon carried was engraved the name Caldarain. It was the coat of arms of his family. He was also carrying all his weapons. He struck quite the imposing figure.

"Wow. Even with all those weapons, you still look damn good!" Ginny gasped.

"Thanks Ginny. I'm sorry for the change in costume, but I have a feeling I'm going to need it tonight." He told her.

"It's okay Harry. But I know you're hiding something from me." She said.

"Ginny, I have to tell you something. I...Voldemort is going to attack somewhere tonight. That's why I'm going like this. All the elves are." He admitted to her.

"Okay Harry. Just, be careful okay? For me?" she said.

"I will Ginny, I promise." He replied, before offering her an arm to escort her down to the ball.

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People looked at Harry with shock as they entered the great hall, then calmed down when they realized it was just a costume. Or so they thought anyway. No one said a word when the other elves arrived either, all dressed similarly to Harry, although with different coat of arms than his. They were also all carrying their weapons.

Once Harry was certain everyone was in the great hall, he quietly sealed the doors. He didn't want to risk Dumbledore following after them, or sending the Order.

The music started, and Harry pulled Ginny up for a dance. He wanted to have at least one chance to dance with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder as they danced slowly to the music. Harry sighed. He didn't want the song to end. They quietly danced together through the next few songs, content simply to be together.

Harry gently kissed the top of her head as another song ended. She looked up at him, love evident in her eyes.

"I love you Harry." She said to him.

"I love you too Gin- Ahh!" He cried out suddenly, dropping to his knees, gripping his forehead.

Immediately the elves converged on him, forming into ranks behind him, ready to gate to the battle.

"Diagon Alley." Harry gasped out through the pain. "He's attacking Diagon Alley. Allia, open the gate."

Allia nodded, and began casting the spell required to open a gate. All elves were highly skilled in magic, and could cast gates. The only difference between a mage and a regular elf was a mage training was focussed entirely on magic, and mages learnt more powerful spells.

"Harry, wait! You can't rush just rush into a fight. Wait for the Order, we'll help you." Dumbledore said, as he made his way over to Harry.

"No. There is no time. We go now. Justice delayed is justice denied." He said, as he leapt through the newly formed Gate, the rest of the elves following behind him.

"Be safe Harry." Ginny whispered to herself, as she watched him leave.

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Harry and the others emerged in a side alley. It seemed the delay had been enough, as a few corpses already littered the ground. Sorrow filled Harry's eyes, as he looked down at a young girl, no older than seven, who lay motionless upon the ground. Then his eyes hardened as he turned to the other elves.

"The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is the duty of the living to do so for them." He said shortly.

With nods, the elves readied their weapons, and went out to bring justice to the wicked.

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The people in the Great Hall waited anxiously for news. It had been thirty minutes since Harry and the elves had left. Dumbledore had found out right away about Harry sealing them in, and had not been pleased about it, although he understood the reasoning. He figured Harry woulnd't have wanted any of them to get hurt.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and in stepped an elderly elf, who looked around for a moment, before turning to Dumbledore, who he obviously recognized as the person in charge.

"What is going on? Where is the Prince?" The elf asked.

"Who are you?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am Olvyn, Astara's replacement. Now, where is the Prince? I tried to contact him as I approached the castle, but couldn't sense him." The mage said.

"He's gone to fight. Voldemort is attacking Diagon Alley, and Harry sealed us in." Dumbledore said.

"Ah. Of course. He wouldn't have wanted you in the way. Elves fight as a cohesive unit, and work better in such small groups if they don't have to worry about allies interfering with their attacks. I don't mean this too be insulting, but when you fight with someone you are not used to, you cannot fight as fluidly. That is almost certainly why the Prince would not have wanted you to accompany them." The elf said.

"Oh. Do you have any idea when they will return?" Dumbledore asked.

The old mage closed his eyes briefly, before opening them again. "They'll be here shortly. They are just opening the gate to return. I can sense its creation."

The old elf was right. A circle of light seemed to open before them, and the elves emerged. They all seemed to be injured in some way, and their clothes were ripped in various places and wet with blood. The healers amongst them, now that they were away from the battle, turned their attention to healing the various wounds.

Ginny ran over to Harry, pulling him into a hug, ignoring the blood streaming from the cut on his forehead.

"Thank Merlin you're okay! I was worried." She admitted.

"It's okay Gin. I'm fine. Once I get this cut healed, I'll be good as new." He said.

She watched as one of the healers came over to him, and quickly healed his cut.

As soon as the cut had sealed, she grabbed Harry and pulled him into a deep kiss. He was shocked at first, but quickly returned the kiss.

The clearing of a throat broke them apart.

"Excuse me Harry, but would you mind telling me what happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"About a hundred Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley, along with a few Dementors. Not a very large attack force. We fought them off, but we arrived too late and there were casualties. We failed to protect them." Harry said, his face drooping in sorrow.

"Harry stop it." Ginny said. "You probably saved hundreds of people tonight, you can't blame yourself for a few deaths."

Harry sighed nodding. He slowly walked out of the room, still feeling guilty. Ginny followed quietly after him. She followed him all the way up to his room, where he collapsed to the floor, crying silently.

"Harry! What's wrong?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his shaking shoulders.

"A little girl died. She was no older than seven. She was dead before we even arrived. What did she do? What did she do to deserve to have her life snuffed out?" He sobbed.

"Shhh Harry, it's okay. There was nothing you could do. It's Voldemort's fault, not yours." She whispered in his ear, still hugging him tightly.

"I know. It's just when I saw her, I couldn't help but think that it could have been you. It could have been you laying there lifeless. It...it scared me." He whispered.

She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling his fear. "Harry?" She said, making him look her in the eye. Then she poured reassurance and love through their bond, letting him feel how much she loved him. "It'll be okay, you won't lose me." She told him, hugging him tightly.

He merely nodded, still shaking, and slowly drifted off to sleep, still hugging Ginny to him.


	12. Chapter 12

Good news ladies and gentlemen (and all the rest of you)! I've finally managed to get my hands on a program which will actually let me upload files formatted. Therefor, from now on, all animal speak will be in _italics._

Just so you know, Voldemort and the Death Eaters don't know that Avada Kedavra doesn't really kill, so they'll keep using it for a while.

Anyway, you know what's really sad? Currently the thing I worry about most is uploading a chapter that doesn't live up to your expectations. My life is sad, isn't it? That being said, here's the chapter.

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Chapter 12: Battle Report, Quidditch, and a Rat.

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Attack on Diagon Alley Foiled!

__

Special Corespondant: Kerrin Pearson

Yesterday at 9:15 in the evening, Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley. _According to eyewitnesses, the Death Eaters immediately began firing the Killing Curse at nearby witches and wizards. Before the Death Eaters could curse more than ten people, salvation came in the form of Harry Potter._

Eye witness Dedalus Diggle describes what he saw. "I couldn't have been more terrified! I was thinking to myself; 'this is it Dedalus, this is the end. You aren't going to make it out of this one.' There were Death Eater's everywhere. I tried to apparate out, but they must have erected anti-apparition wards or something. Tricky little blighters Death Eaters. I was watching as this one particularly ugly one, well I'll admit, I couldn't see his face, but I'm sure he was ugly, anyway, I was watching him, I was hiding in a cauldron at the time, anyway I was watching him approaching a young wizard, he looked to be only ten, anyway, I was watching him, and he was about to curse the poor boy. I was thinking, 'oh you poor child. Never to grow up to appreciate the simple joys of self-inflicted dementia charms.' Anyway, the Death Eater got as far as saying 'Avada-' before his words ended in a bloody gurgle. There was an arrow through his throat! I looked from where it came, and I saw Harry Potter himself! I read about how he was an elf, but I never really believed it. I thought it was all just a dementia charm induced hallucination! Anyway, you should have seen him! He looked sooo mad! There was a fire in his eyes I hadn't seen since I accidentally set my eyes on fire! Now that was a fun night! Anyway, there was no doubting he was an elf then. He had the pointy ears and everything. So , anyway, he was standing just at the edge of an alley, which was full of shadows behind him. So, he approached the Death Eaters, who were all staring at him surprised. Guess they aint never seen an elf before either. So anyway, Potter comes out and glares at the Death Eaters. Then this bright green rune begins to shine above the Death Eaters. "Justice has Come," he said in this really cool voice. Right after he said it, a volley of arrows whipped out from the alley behind him, passing so close to his head that his hair was moved by the breeze, before falling amongst the Death Eaters. Out of the alley poured another fifteen or so elves, all carrying drawn bows, firing at the Death Eaters. Potter slung his bow over his shoulder, and drew this wicked curved sword, lashing out at the nearby Death Eaters, who were still frozen in fear by the surprise attack. Anyway, I watched as about half the elves slung their bows, and also drew swords, and moved in to fight up close to the Death Eaters, while the others continued to fire arrows. I watched Potter as he fought. He moved faster than lightning! He swung his sword so fast, it was a blur. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another Death Eater about to fire the Killing Curse at an elderly witch. Without turning his head, Potter threw his left hand out towards the Death Eater, and a dagger sprouted from the bastard's chest! Sadly, I didn't see any more, because the cauldron I was hiding in rolled over, and I was stuck underneath it.

Mable Haversack, the elderly woman, continues the story. "Harry Potter saved my life he did! I don't know how he saw that Death Eater, but somehow he did. I always knew he was a good boy. His parents were such nice people. Pity what happened to them, Lily made such a nice cup of tea. There must have been at least a hundred Death Eaters there, and only twenty elves, but it looked like the elves were winning. They were rotating around strangely though. One second one would be fighting with a sword, then they'd fall back and briefly disappear into the shadows for a moment, before re-emerging and fighting with their bow, before returning to using their sword. It was very odd. Not only did they seem to worry about the Death Eaters, but they did the best they could to protect as many people as they could. If they saw someone in danger, they'd risk their lives to save that person. I saw Potter jump in the way of a curse meant for a young lady, and he didn't even flinch when it opened a deep gash on his forehead. He didn't even seem to notice. Three Death Eaters were approaching him , all attacking him at the same time. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, he had returned his big sword to its scabbard, and drawn a twin pair of slightly smaller swords ones from his back, using them to deflect the curses! He seemed to use those swords as if they were extensions of his own body, swinging them with a speed, and deadly accuracy the likes of which I've never seen. It was then that I noticed a trio of elves in white robes moving among the injured witches and wizards who littered the ground, healing them! I also saw what looked like a cauldron wobbling of its own free will, but that's just silly. Anyway, soon the elves had eliminated most of the Death Eaters they had been fighting, and I watched as all the elves switched to their bows, and began to pick off the remaining few Death Eaters. I don't even know how they saw some of them, because they would fire into the shadows, or where it looked like no Death Eater was, and they always hit. It looked like the Elves could see through invisibility charms!"

We here at the Daily Prophet would like to thank Mr. Potter and his comrades for defending Diagon Alley so well, and with such bravery and spirit. Who knows how man innocent witches and wizards would have died if it were not for the courage of the elves.

Harry dropped his copy of the paper on the table. They were in the great hall for breakfast the day after the attack 

"I hate publicity." He said, groaning.

"Then you shouldn't have become an elf." Ron said.

Harry glared at Ron. "It wasn't exactly optional."

"So did you recognize any of the Death Eaters?" Ginny asked.

"No. They weren't any of his Inner Circle. If anything, I think they were just a bunch of new recruits." Harry said.

"That's too bad." Hermione said.

"Ya. I want to find Wormtail before Christmas. Not for freeing him, because once my parents are back, they can testify, I just want to catch the rat." He said.

"Ya. It's a good thing you didn't get hurt to badly Harry." Said Ron.

"Speaking of which, I need to talk to Allia for a moment." He said, rising and walking quickly to the female elf.

"How many were injured?" He asked her in a whisper.

"About thirty. Your plan worked. When they were injured, they fell back into the shadows and gated back to the Camp. None were too badly injured. Feldarath was hurt the worst. He'll have a limp for a while, but he'll be okay." She whispered back.

"Good." He said, nodding. "If you get a chance later, gate over to the Camp. They deserve to have some praise, they fought well. I'd do it, but I'll be pretty busy today with class.

She nodded in reply, and he turned and walked back to his friends.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked, as he sat down.

"Nothing. Just wanted to make sure everyone was healed alright." He replied.

"Oh, well that's good." She said.

"Tomorrow's the game against Slytherin." Ron interrupted.

"Oh damn, I forgot about that." Harry replied.

"You forgot about Quidditch? What's wrong with you mate? You've changed." Ron said sincerely.

"Shut-up Ron. He's been busy." Ginny said in his defence.

"Ya. Anyway, I'm not worried about the game. We'll win." Harry said, sure of himself.

"Good. Can't let Slytherin win." Ron said.

Just then, a thought crossed Harry's mind.

"Ginny, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" He asked her.

"Sure Harry." She said, as she got up to follow him out of the hall. As soon as they were out, Harry pulled her to the side.

"Gin, is there a rule saying that you have to play Quidditch on broomstick?" He asked.

"What? Well, I think there's something in the rules about players having to stay on their brooms for the first minute. Why?" She askedconfused.

"How would you like to fly my Firebolt tomorrow?"

"Are you sure about this Harry?' Ginny asked, as the two walked to the locker rooms before the game.

"Yes. Malfoy's gonna freak!" He laughed.

"Are you sure you'll be faster?" She asked.

"Trust me Ginny. I'll be faster." He told her reassuringly.

She nodded, and the two walked in silence to where the rest of the team were gathered.

"Okay people." Harry began. "Here's the plan. We win. That's it."

"That's it?" Ron asked in confusion."That's the plan?"

"What's wrong with it? We win. Short and simple." He said.

"Okaayyyy." Ron said, shaking his head.

"Let's go people." He said, gesturing for them to head out to the pitch. "Ron, wait up a second."

"What?" Ron asked.

"I'll bet you five Galleons we'll win in under three minutes." Harry said grinning.

"What? C'mon Harry, even you can't pull that off. You're on." Ron answered.

"Good. Let's go." Harry said.

"Annnnnnnnnnnd here come the Gryffindors! Led by new captain Harry Potter, the Gryffindors are ready to pounce on the dirty Slytherin snakes. Now that Potter's back as seeker, Slytherin doesn't stand a chance in hel-"

"Thomas!" McGonagall yelled at Dean Thomas, who had replaced Lee Jordan as commentator.

"Sorry professor. The new members of the team this year are Colin Creevey, and Seamus Finnigan. Ginny Weasley is the other new chaser, having moved from her previous position to enable Harry to retake his position as seeker. Madam Hooch has released the balls, and this game is on!"

Harry sat idly on his broom, waiting patiently. Nearby, Ginny also sat, not moving.

"And it seems as if something is wrong with Potter, and Weasley's brooms! They're not moving! Wait, what's this? Potter has spread his wings, while passing his Firebolt to Weasley, who promptly switches brooms! This is very odd, why is he not staying on his broom, surely he can't possibly go faster with his wings! The Firebolt has too be fas- WHOA! Did you see that?"

Harry had been slowly rising up in the air, and had suddenly dived down, tucking his wings in behind him as he flew to the ground, quicker than any broom. He swooped rapidly downwards, arrowing towards the ground.

Elven eyesight is much finer than that of a human, and mere seconds afterhe took flight, his eyes had picked up the motion of the snitch. He was a blur to those watching him, a streak of white speeding downwards.

Only feet from the ground, he flared his wings, stopping with his feet inches, from the ground, landing smoothly. He looked at his right hand, then open it.

"Potter has caught the snitch! A new record! Only one minute twenty three seconds of play, and Potter catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins 150-0!"

Harry grinned as he watched Malfoy yelling to Hooch that Harry had cheated. Nothing the git could do though. He was well within the rules. Quidditch just hadn't been made with elves in mind.

"Good job Harry." Allia said, as she came up to him. "You're a natural with those."

Harry grinned. "You have no idea how great it is to fly so freely, not worrying about anything but the wind in your wings."

Just then, Ron and Ginny landed nearby.

"Wow Harry! That was great!" Ginny exclaimed, as she ran over and kissed him quickly.

"We'll win the Cup this year for certain!"

"Bloody hell Harry! That was cheating!" Ron told him.

Ginny looked at him confused. "Why are you complaining? We won."

Ron nodded, "Ya, but this git made a bet with me. Now I owe him five Galleons. I didn't know you were going to use your wings!

"Ahh, but you didn't ask did you? You never asked; 'Harry, are you going to use your wings?' You never asked if my elven eyesight would enable me to see the snitch almost immediately, did you? No. Therefor, I saw the snitch, and used my wings to catch it fast." Harry said grinning widely.

Ron grumbled. "Fine. Remind me never to make a bet with you again."

"Never make a bet with me again." Harry said.

Ron glared at him, before turning his back and walking towards the locker rooms.

Ginny giggled. "You're so mean."

"Why thank you, my dear Huntress." He replied, looking down at her.

"C'mon, let's go." She said, dragging him off the pitch.

The five Marauders were just entering the entrance hall when suddenly Harry and Allia stopped.

They seemed to listen to something for a minute, before a wide grin slowly spread across Harry's face. In the blink of an eye, where Harry had stood now stood a lion. The four only had time to notice the lion's emerald eyes, and the white patch of fur on its forehead shaped like a lightning bolt, before the lion went tearing off down a side hallway.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, somewhat frightened.

"Don't worry. Harry's just going to play a little game with a visitor." Allia said, the corners of her mouth twitching into an evil smile.

"A game? What are you talking about? What game?" Ron asked.

"Just a little game of cat-and-mouse." She replied.

"With who?" Hermione asked in confusion.

Suddenly there was a loud roar from deep within the school. The walls seemed to shake with the force of it.

"He's found him." Allia said, her grin widening.

"Found who?" Hermione asked in exasperation.

"Let me put it this way. A certain rat who has just entered the school is about to have a very bad day." She said, grinning wickedly.

Harry loped through the hallways of the castle, scaring a few students who seemed quite shocked to see a full grown lion stalking the school. He continued deeper into the school, his sensitive nose sniffing for the intruder the map in Allia's office had alerted him too.

There! Scurrying along the wall. Seems like the little rat decided to sneak in through a series of cracks in the wall.

Harry let out a loud roar, and pounced after the suddenly terrified rat. The rat managed to evade his paws, and took of down the corridor. Harry gave chase, his powerful limbs chewing up the distance between the two, bringing him steadily closer.

Students jumped out of the way as he shot after the squeaking rat. It tried to slip under a door to slow Harry down, but Harry simply leapt at the door, shattering it off its hinges with his weight.

He chased it until they re-emerged in the entrance hall once again, and he managed to corner the rat. Harry stalked slowly towards it, growling deep in his throat, ignoring the watching students.

Then he pounced, catching the shaking rat between his two front paws. He brought his head down, and showed the rat his mouth full of sharp, two inch teeth. He growled slowly, making sure he had a good grip on the rat, before lifting his head to look at Allia, who promptly froze the rat's body.

Harry shifted back to his human form, surprising the watching students. He bent down, and picked up the frozen rat, whose only sign of life was the terrified look in its eyes. Dangling the rat by its tail, he held it up, and looked into its eyes.

"Hello Wormtail, what a pleasure it is to see you again."

Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I had writer's block after the newspaper bit. So if the part after it seems a little forced, that's why.

In case any of you were confused, self inflicted dementia charms is basically the wizard way of getting high.

Again, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed, it means a lot. Anyway, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully not too long from now.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** If I could make a polyjuice potion, I'd become Ms. Rowlings, and sign all ownership of Harry Potter over to myself. But I can't, so I don't own it. Sad isn't it?

**Chapter 13: Traitors, More Traitors, and an Egg**

"So." Said Harry, as he dangled the rat in front of him. "What should we do with you? Any ideas Allia?" He asked, turning to the elf, who was grinning maliciously.

"Oh, I don't know. We could turn him over to you little friend Dobby. I'm sure he has a lovely recipe for fried rat." She said.

"Noooo." Replied Harry. "I don't think anyone would want to eat him. I'm fairly certain you'd vomit him up. Either that, or he'd give you a rather horrible disease."

"True, he does look a little nasty." She said. "Well, as I see it, we have three options. Option one: turn him over to your Minister of Magic."

"Hmm, I don't really think I trust Fudge that much. Although we'll have to be sure to invite him over to visit. I'm sure he'd love to meet this little rodent." Harry replied.

"Option two. Execute him for attempted murder of elvish royalty." She said.

"Hey! Now there's an idea! What do you think Wormy?" He asked, as he drew a knife and held it before the terrified rat. "But then, I'd really rather not dirty one of my knives with your foul blood. What's the last option?" He asked Allia, as he returned his knife to its sheathe.

She grinned evilly. "Hold on to him until New Years, and turn him over to the ones he betrayed. I'm sure they'd love to talk to him again." Was her answer.

"Yes, I do believe that is the best option. We'll let them play with him a little bit. But what should we do with him for now?" He asked her.

"Best idea's probably turn him over to Dumbledore." She replied.

"Ya. Where is he?" He asked her.

Allia walked over, and opened the door to the great hall, and they caught sight of Dumbledore talking with a few teachers, Lupin included, at the head table.

"There he is." Allia said. "Here, give him to me, I'll take him to Dumbledore." She said, reaching out her hand.

Harry just grinned, swinging the rat in circles by its tail. "How far do you think it is from here to the Headmaster?"

Allia looked back through the door. "I don't know. Maybe fifty yards. Why?" She asked, turning back to Harry. It was then that she noticed the decidedly evil grin on his face, and the mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Why?" She asked again.

"Astathi eru sta." He said in elvish.

Her eyes widened. Then so did her grin, as she realized what he intended. She quickly made her way through the doors, jogged up to near where Dumbledore was standing, and turned back around to face Harry.

"Harry?" Ginny asked worriedly. "What did you say?"

He grinned at her, holding the rat out by its tail in front of him.

"Go long." He said, and with that he punted the rat through the open doors, launching it towards the waiting elf.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, as he watched the squeaking rat sail through the air, to land in Allia's outstretched hands.

"Touchdown!" The elf yelled, throwing the frozen rat's bruised body to the ground.

"Damn Harry!" Allia said, as the four made their way towards her. "I didn't think you'd make it! You weren't very good at Athali when you were in Falandais. It doesn't help that a rat isn't very aerodynamic."

"What's Athali?" Hermione asked.

"It's sort of like muggle football, the Canadian kind." (**AN**. Also the American kind, but I'm canadian, and like ours better. Silly americans with your extra down and your shorter field.)

Said Harry. "Its an elven sport, quite popular. I wasn't very good at it though. Guess I'm just better at Quidditch."

"What's going on?" Asked Dumbledore, looking at the five in confusion.

"Well, my dear grandfather, we had a little guest stop by for a quick visit, but I was so sure both you and Moony would want to see him, that I just had to stop him from leaving." Harry said, still grinning.

"Who?" Asked Lupin.

"Why, your dear old friend Wormtail, of course." Allia said, picking the much abused rat up of the floor by its tail.

When Lupin saw the rat, he immediately drew his wand, and started forward, his eyes wide with anger.

"Now Remus," Harry said, stepping between Lupin and the dangling Wormtail. "You wouldn't want to deprive your dear friends of a very enjoyable, somewhat belated, Christmas present would you? I'm sure I know a few people who would love to have a little chat with the little rat. You don't want to ruin all the fun now, before they can play too, do you? Plus, if you kill him now, you would be killing a defenceless being, and that would be wrong. Let him live, for now. I'm sure he will get his just deserts in the new year. Trust me, he will not go unpunished."

Remus paused, looking Harry in the eyes. Staring into the composed eyes of someone who he knew had just as good a reason to hate Wormtail as he, he calmed. If Harry could fight the anger, so could he.

"So, what shall we do with him?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, I think you should call the Minister, he needs to see this." Harry said.

"Right. I'll ask him to bring a few of his most trusted Aurors along, to take Mr. Pettigrew into custody." Dumbledore said.

"No." Harry replied curtly.

"Why ever not?" Dumbledore asked in confusion.

"I will not allow the Ministry to take him into their custody. His crimes were that against the elven people. He will be tried by an elven Justiciar when we return to Falandias. Until then, he shall remain in my personal care." Harry said.

He waved his hand at the high table, and a large cage appeared upon it, complete with a food dish, a water bowl, and an exercise wheel.

"I believe this shall be a lovely home for Wormtail for the time being, don't you agree? He won't be able to transform unless we let him, so he isn't going anywhere." He asked, smirking.

"I guess you have that right. His crimes were against your people. Still, I shall go call for Cornelius. We will still need him to see that Pettigrew lives, and therefor Sirius is innocent.

With that, Dumbledore strode from the Great Hall.

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When he returned, a large crowd had gathered in the Hall, watching what was happening, trying to figure out what could have caused such commotion. The entire contingent of elves had entered the hall, and were positioned around the room, watching the commotion collectedly.

"The Minister should be here shortly. I gave him a brief explanation, so he should come quickly." Dumbledore said, as he approached the group gathered around the Head Table. "He was in a head of department meeting, so a large group will accompany him, along with several Aurors."

No sooner had he said that then the Minister came barging through the doors, followed closely by about twenty other wizards. Harry smiled when he saw Arthur Weasley amongst them.

Then his eyes narrowed as he felt something.

"_Harry? Do you feel what I feel?" _Allia sent to him.

"_Fudge, four of the Aurors, and two of the department heads?"_ He sent back.

"_Yup. What do you want to do?" _She asked.

"_Nothing just yet. Get the others into position. I'll take care of Fudge." _He replied, before stepping forward to greet the Minister.

"Hello again Minister." He said, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall.

While everyone's attention was focused on him, no one noticed the elves abandon their posts along the walls of the room. No one took notice as they slowly moved through the crowd, drifting slowly towards the mass of Ministry officials.

"What is this about Potter?" The Minister demanded. He was still upset with how badly his reputation had been tarnished by the events of the recent past.

"Well, you know how in my third year, we had that whole to-do about Sirius Black, and how I believed he was innocent, and that Peter Pettigrew was alive and framed him?" He asked, in a high, sing-song voice.

"Yes..." Fudge said, unsure where this was going. (What can I say? He's a moron)

"Well, I'd like you to meet Wormtail, aka Peter Pettigrew, aka The-True-Bastard-Who-Betrayed-My-Parents." He said, holding up the cage with the squeaking rat inside.

"Preposterous. Peter Pettigrew is dead. He died a hero. Black murdered him." Fudge said nervously. "I refuse to believe that you have found Pettigrew alive. You probably just have an imposter in that cage." He said, turning to leave.

Suddenly Harry's hand shot out, grabbing onto Fudge's forearm. "Now now Fudge. You only just got here! Why would you be oh so very eager to leave?" Harry asked.

The Minister tugged frantically, trying to free his arm from Harry's grasp.

"Why Minister!" Harry said innocently. "It's almost as if your afraid of something. Do you have something to hide?"

Harry watched the Minister's eyes widen, then briefly glance towards several of the men standing amongst the group from the ministry.

"What's this Minister?" Harry said, pretending to have seen something on Fudge's arm. "It looks like you've gotten yourself a little tattoo! Whatever could it be of?" He asked, as he quickly pushed Fudge's sleeve up, revealing the Dark Mark burnt into his arm. "Ooooh! Someone's been a bad little boy! In the blink of an eye, Harry had drawn a dagger, and held it to Fudge's throat.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several of the Ministry officials reach for their wands.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said.

No sooner had he said that than they froze, as the elves who had been taking up positions near them suddenly had their bows drawn, and arrows pointed, arrow tips mere inches away from the terrified faces of the wizards who had begun to move. (**AN**. Think LOTR Fellowship of the Ring. "The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark." I loved that scene!)

"Mr. Weasley," Harry said, addressing the only Ministry official he knew he could trust. "If you check each of those that we are currently holding a weapon to, you will find that they all bear the Dark Mark."

The senior Weasley nodded, before signalling to the remaining Aurors to do the check. Sure enough, each of those that the elves had identified bore the Mark.

The head of the Aurors present immediately stunned all of the Death Eaters, before turning to Harry.

"What about Pettigrew? If what you say is true, we will have to arrest him."

"No. You may question him later, in my presence, but he will not be taken by you. His crimes were against my family. My people. He will be tried by our laws." Harry said grimly.

The Auror looked at him for a moment, before nodding his head in acceptance, and turned back to the rest.

"Get them out of here. We're leaving." He said, as he made his way out of the hall, the Death Eaters being floated along behind him.

Arthur was about to follow them out when Dumbledore caught his eye, and gestured for him to join them.

"What is it Albus?" He asked when he reached the group.

"Do you remember what was discussed at the last meeting of the Order?" Dumbledore asked him.

"I think so." Arthur said nervously.

"I would like you to take up the position." Dumbledore said to him.

"WHAT? Surely you must be joking!" Arthur yelled.

"I am not joking Arthur. You are in the best position to succeed." Dumbledore said.

"But...I... very well." Arthur replied.

"Good. Thank you Arthur. You'd best get back to the Ministry now." Dumbledore said to him.

Mr. Weasley nodded, still deep in thought as he left the Great Hall.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, looking questioningly at Dumbledore

"You'll find out soon enough." Dumbledore said, ending the conversation.

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**CORNELIUS FUDGE A DEATH EATER! NEW MINISTER CHOSEN!**

_Yesterday, Cornelius Fudge, along with a group of high ranking Ministry officials, as well as several Aurors made a trip to Hogwarts. According to Head Auror Polonis Dinglebat, _(**AN**. Don't even say anything. I know it's a bad name. That was the idea!) _Peter Pettigrew, thought dead fifteen years ago, was found alive and well at Hogwarts. In a later interrogation of Pettigrew, it was revealed that he was in fact the Potter's secret keeper, and that Sirius Black was innocent of all charges. All charges against Mr. Black have been dropped, all holdings of the Black family returned to his ownership, and a restitution payment of One Hundred Thousand Galleons has been paid to him, to make up for his years in Azkaban._

_Also revealed yesterday was the fact that the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was in fact a Death Eater. He and several other Death Eaters high ranked in the Ministry were captured yesterday by the elves who are stationed at Hogwarts. Mr. Fudge has been sentenced to a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban, which as you all know, is now guarded by Aurors since the Dementors abandoned it._

_The new Minister Of Magic was also chosen yesterday, in a late-night session of the Wizengamot, and the department heads of the Ministry. Former Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department Arthur Weasley has taken the position of Minister. _

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, when he realized his father was now the Minister Of Magic.

"Dad's Minister of Magic?" Ginny asked in shock. "But... but... how?"

"You'd be surprised how much being a member of the Order of the Phoenix can help a person's campaign. Especially with the Dark Lord back. It made sense. Mr. Weasley was the only person eligible who was also in the Order." Harry said calmly.

"But Dad?" Ron asked, still trying to come to grips with this sudden change.

"Yes." Hermionesaid. "I think your father will be great at the job. He's not a bloody git like Fudge, so he'll do fine." She finished, looking up to see Ron, Harry and Ginny staring at her wide eyed.

"Did I just hear-" Ginny began.

"Prefect, book-worm Hermione-" Harry continued.

"SWEAR?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"Oh hush." She said. "I've sworn before. Just not much."

Harry's laughter was interrupted by Apollo flying into the room, carrying a small sack in his talons.

"What's up Apollo?" He asked

"_Well, you know how I was awfully close to Argenta before we left?" _The phoenix asked.

"Ya, what about it?" He asked, Ron, Hermione and Ginny watching this, to them anyway, one sided conversation.

"_Well... She laid an egg." _The phoenix said.

"Good for her. So what's the problem?" He asked.

"_It didn't bond with anyone." _The phoenix said.

Harry nearly fell of his chair. "WHAT? That's impossible! It must have chosen. If it doesn't choose, it will die!" He exclaimed, making those listening jump at the sudden change in volume.

"_I know! That's why I'm here. We figured, if it didn't choose someone there, it might choose someone here." _The phoenix said.

"You brought the egg here?" He asked in shock.

"What's going on?" Allia asked, coming over after hearing Harry's shout.

"Argenta laid an egg. It didn't choose anyone in Falandais." He said.

"What?" Allia asked in shock.

"That's what I said." He replied. "So what should we do Apollo?" He asked the phoenix.

"_I guess you just look after it, and hopefully it chooses before it is time for it too hatch." _The phoenix said.

"Alright." Harry said, reaching to pick up the satchel Apollo had placed carefully on the table.

"What's that Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Phoenix Lord egg." He said, as he removed the egg from the satchel with great care. It was a silver egg, with glowing blues lines tracing along it's shell.

"Wow." Ginny gasped in awe. "It's beautiful! Can I touch it?"

"As long as your careful." He said.

Ginny carefully reached out her hand to touch the egg delicately with her finger. As soon as she touched it, it began to glow brightly, a blue light shining brightly.

Harry stared in complete shock, completely and totally caught off his guard. He barely even took notice of Apollo trilling loudly.

"_Well, I guess that solves that little problem!"_

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I never did like Fudge. Pompous git. Take that you git! BUAHAHAHA I HAVE THE POWER! I can make them do anything I want!

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Voldemort walked up to Lucius Malfoy.

"You! Go out, buy me a pink tutu, a little toy poodle, and the entire collection of Barney tapes!"

"What?" Malfoy asked in confusion.

"You heard me! Don't make me turn you into one of those wiener dogs, and make you wear a big pink wig."

Later, after Malfoy buys all of Voldie's new things.

"Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalala!" The Dork Lord sang, as he pranced around his throne room in his cute pink tutu, his little poodle barking along behind him. "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family!"

"My lord are you all right?" Crabbe Sr. asked.

"Of course I'm alright! I've never been better! As a matter of fact, my dear Pillsbury Doughboy, I think I'm in the mood for some swing dancing! Who want's to dance with me?" MoldyWarts asked.

"Oooooh! Me my lord, me!" John Avery yelled, jumping up and down, waving his hand in the air!

And so they swing danced around the room, until He-Whos-Name-Has-Too-Many-Hyphenations threw Avery too far, and he crashed into the little toy poodle, crushing it to death.

"NOOOOOOOO! Little Bitsy! What did you ever do to deserve to be crushed like a pancake?" Exclaimed the distraught Dark Lord of Lard.

meanwhile, at Hogwarts,

"Look at that idiot!" Harry laughed, as he watched the wall of the great hall, which had for some unknown reason turned into a giant television screen, and was showing Moldie's current activities. "What an idiot!"

"Whatever could be making him so weird?" Asked Hermione in confusion.

"Must be the author. I hear he's had too much sugar tonight, and is feeling very happy." Ginny said, smiling sweetly up at the screen above, where the author could be seen typing on his computer, all the while eating pack after pack of fun-dip. "Yup. There he is. Hiya Author!"

Hey! You're not supposed to see me! How can you see me?

"Ummm, I dunno" Ginny said sheepishly.

Oh. Okay then. I forgive you! Well, this chappies over, so why don't you go snog Harry, while I go upload this chapter?

"Okay!" Ginny said, before jumping on Harry and snogging him senseless.

Good girl.

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Okay, I don't know why I did that, I just felt like it. If you didn't like it, meh. It's not part of the story, so just go forget it. Go on. Forget it! Hmm, I forgot I couldn't control you reader's like I can the characters. For now anyway...

Author runs off laughing, planning to figure out how to hypnotize people through written words only


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Journey To Falandais**

"Umm. Harry?" Ginny asked, staring wide-eyed at the egg. "What just happened?"

Harry merely gaped at her. He had certainly not been expecting this.

"Well Ginny." He began, after recovering himself. "What just happened was that phoenix has chosen you. It will be bound to you, and you to it, like Apollo and myself."

She gasped in shock, staring in disbelief at the egg before her.

"R-really?" She stuttered.

He nodded, still somewhat shocked himself.

"But how? Why?" She asked.

"I don't know. The Phoenix chooses, and it has chosen you." He said.

"Oh, okay then." She said somewhat nervously. "Why would it choose me?"

"I have no idea Ginny. I have no idea." He said, shaking his head.

"So umm, when will it hatch?" She asked.

"Well," he replied, looking down at the egg, "it looks like it was just recently laid, so it should be about eight or so weeks until it hatches. Sometime in the early new year. For now, just keep it in a warm, safe place, and you'll have nothing to worry about."

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(**AN. **And here is where I spent nearly a week trying to figure out how to legitimately skip a month and a half!)

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The next month and a half passed quickly for Harry. (**AN. **Okay, so I cheated. So what? Anyway, sorry. Nothing interesting was planned until the holiday break, so I skipped some time.) There were no further attacks from Voldemort. This worried Harry somewhat, but he wasn't going to complain.

Before he knew it, the end of term had come, and most of the students had gone home for the holidays.

Harry was sitting in the Headmaster's office, along with Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Professor Lupin, Allia, and of course, the Headmaster. They were discussing the upcoming trip.

"Now, the journey won't take overly long. We shall create a gate to just outside the city's shields. Then it will be about a one hour walk through the forest to the outer reaches of the city. Do you have any questions?" Harry asked.

"What do we need to bring with us?" Hermione asked.

"Well, bring whatever you think you may need. You won't need more than a few sets of clothing, as the robes you have would be most inappropriate in the forest, we shall provide you with proper apparel once we arrive." He told her.

Allia nodded in agreement. "You won't really need to worry about bringing too much. Only bring things you don't want to be without. Anything that is truly necessary will be provided."

"So can I bring my books?" Hermione asked.

"A few. Keeping in mind you'll have to carry them on the walk to the city. Also, Falandais does have a rather extensive library. Most of the books are in Elvish, but I'm sure you could find some in English you would find interesting." Harry told her.

"Really?" She asked excitedly. "That's great! They must have some truly fascinating books! I can't wait-"

"Hermione." Ron said, cutting her off. "You rambling again."

"Oh." She said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Anyway," Harry said. "We'll be gating from here at about noon tomorrow, so have everything you want to bring ready by then."

"Are the rest of the elves coming?" Dumbledore asked worriedly.

Harry shook his head. "No, they are staying here to defend the school. You needn't worry."

Dumbledore nodded, relieved. "Well, I guess I better go get all my socks together. Can't forget those." He said, as he rose from his desk. "I'll meet you all tomorrow then." With that, he left the room. The others soon left as well, except Harry and Allia.

"Did you send the message?" He asked her, as the made their way to the door together.

"Yes. The majority of the Strike Force shall be a half hour's march from the walls for the duration of the stay." She replied. "They will not be seen."

"Good." Harry said, nodding. "It wouldn't do to have for Grandfather or any of the others to see the size of our forces. Otherwise, they may wonder about why there are so few elves within Hogwarts' walls."

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On his way to the Great Hall the next day, Harry stopped off in the kitchen to see if Dobby or any of the others had decided to accompany the group travelling to Falandais.

When he arrived, he was surprised to find that none of the house elves, Dobby included, desired to come.

"Dobby appreciates the offer, as do the others," Dobby said in explanation. "But we belongs here, and this is our home. We are happy to be here."

"That's fine Dobby. The offer remains open though. If you should ever desire to visit Falandais, you will be able." He told the house elf, who nodded happily.

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When he arrived in the Great Hall, he found the others already waiting for him. Allia had also brought Rathi and Warwick along, as the two elves would be bringing their mounts with them.

"Are you ready?" He asked, as he joined them.

"I believe we are all a trifle nervous." Dumbledore said. "But we are ready."

"Very well then." He said, turning to Allia. "Ready the gate."

She nodded, and turned, her mouth moving silently, as she invoked the magic to open a gate. Moments later, the gate stood, a shining portal of light in front of them.

"Allia and I shall go first." Harry said, facing the others. "Wait five minutes before you follow. If we are not there waiting for you, remain where you are, and someone will find you."

"Why? What's this all about?" Ginny asked.

"The gate exit is outside the shields. Gating is not an always exact, particularly when you are opening a gate to an outside area. With a building, such as Hogwarts, you have something to lock on to. Outside, you don't." Allia explained.

"What's your point?" Ron asked.

"Our point is, we do not know exactly where we will emerge, and we do not know if where we will emerge is completely safe, since it is outside the shields. There are several patrols awaiting our arrival, to escort us in, but until we contact one, we will be alone. Therefor, Harry and I need to secure the area upon our arrival, and contact the nearest patrol." Allia finished.

"Oh, alright then." Ron said.

They watched as Harry and Allia rode through the gate. They then waited patiently for five minutes before following.

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They emerged in a forest, surrounded by tall trees. Alone. There was no sign of Harry or Allia.

They settled down to wait, but not even ten minutes had passed before they began to feel anxious. Standing up, Hermione walked to a nearby tree, and looked closely at its trunk.

"I've never seen a tree like this one before. I wonder where we are." She said.

"You are in the forest of Glendon, human. No human has set foot on this ground in over a thousand years." Came a deep, powerful voice from the forest. "Who are you? How did you come to be in this place?"

"Umm, well, we..." Hermione stuttered.

"We came with Harry Potter." Lupin said.

"I know not of this Harry Potter you speak of." Responded the voice. Then a figure emerged from the shadows. It was a centaur. "You desecrate this land humans. You will explain your presence here, or I will be forced into action."

It was then that another voice entered the conversation, this time from the other side of the group. A lilting, musical female voice. "That shall not be necessary Carnoth. The Harry Potter they speak of is Lord Caldarain. They came with him." Following the voice emerged a trio of figures, elves, mounted upon war unicorns.

"Oh really? And why were the Sentinels not informed of this?" The centaur asked, looking to the elf who had spoken.

"Where were you during the last Sentinels Council?" The elf asked.

"Umm, well..." The centaur replied.

"It does not matter where you were, other than that you were not at the Council. Had you attended, you would have known of this." The elf told him.

"Oh." Said the centaur. "Well then. I'd best be off." He said, before turning and running back into the forest.

"Forgive him." Said the elf. "He is somewhat hard-headed, and can be quite stubborn. I am Elune Cathein. Leader of this patrol of the Strike Force. We were contacted a few minutes ago by the Prince, and came as quick as we could."

"Where is Harry?" Asked Ginny.

"When they arrived, Emrys and Allia encountered a small band of forest trolls. They were just driving them off. They shall meet up with us further up the trail to Falandais."

With that, the elf turned, and gesturing them to follow, led them into the forest, the other two elves falling in behind them. Of course, they did not see the other two score elves who were shadowing their movement.

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They had been walking for twenty minutes when they heard the sound of hooves approaching, and from the trees burst Harry and Allia. The two quickly fell in with the others, and dismounted their steeds, letting the unicorns gallop ahead.

"What happened Harry?" Ginny asked, when he fell into step beside her. The others moved closer as well, to hear his answer.

"Just a small tribe of trolls. It didn't take much to persuade them to move along. Nothing to worry about." He said, looking at her.

"Oh, okay." She replied.

"Harry," Hermione began. "Where are we exactly? I mean geographically."

"We are in a portion of Ireland that has been magically separated from the rest. Animals can enter at will, but people cannot find it unless they are led here. Even if a human managed to somehow find a way in, which is most unlikely, Falandais is charmed to be invisible to human eyes unless we cast a spell enabling specific people to see it. Even elves who don't transform have to have this spell cast on them." He told them.

They continued through the forest for another half hour, before Harry told them that they were nearly within site of the valley within which Falandais rested.

"When we reach the top of this little ridge, you'll be able to see the valley. You won't see the city yet, of course, because we have yet to cast the spell, but you'll be able to see where it is, and once we cast the spell on you, you'll be able to see Falandais in all its magnificence." Harry said.

They approached the ridge, and looked over it.

Harry and Allia gazed down at their home in peace. The very sight of it filled them with happiness.

All of the others looked down at what appeared to be an empty valley in interest, knowing that while they couldn't see it, a vast city lay below them.

All of the others except Ginny. She was looking down into the valley with a mixture of shock and confusion on her face.

"Umm. Harry?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes Gin?" He replied, still looking into the valley.

"Why can I see a city down there?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The Lost Line**

Harry nearly choked on his own tongue hearing what Ginny said! His head snapped around, to gape at her open mouthed.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ginny, Allia had also frozen in place, her eyes wide with shock.

"The Lost Line!" Allia gasped, attracting the attention of the trio of elves who had been escorting them.

"WHAT? What did you say Commander?" The leader of the trio, Elune, asked her in disbelief.

Allia shook herself, and turned to them.

"Ride immediately to the Palace. Tell them the Lost Line has been found." She told them.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, as she watched the three riders tear off down into the valley.

"Ginny," Harry began, his eyes still wild. "When our people retreated into the forests, they kept track of all the families that remained as human. All except one. One of the families that remained behind was lost, and we were unable to find them. If you can see the city, then you must be an elf, and if you are an elf, then you must be from the Lost Line, or we would have known."

"So your saying I'm an elf?" Ginny asked in shock. "What about Ron?"

"Well, if you're an elf, so is he, except its too late for him to transform, but it's not too late for you. When is your birthday again, I forgot." He asked.

"January the third." She said.

"Damn, well that's convenient!" He said, now smiling.

"Wait," Ron interrupted. "So your saying I'm an elf? And Ginny's gonna have pointy ears?"

"Yup, she'll get her pointy ears on the third, if she wants that is." He said, looking at her questioningly.

"Of course!" She said, nodding her head vigorously.

Harry smiled. Inwardly, he was beyond relieved. He had not wanted to think about what would happen between him and Ginny, when she grew old, and he remained young. Elves were very long lived, some living to as much as five hundred years. He hadn't wanted to consider the thought that he may have gone through if he had lost her to old age. Now he didn't have to worry about it.

"Great!" He said. "Now, let's not delay this anymore. Allia?"

Allia nodded, before moving to the two adults with them. Harry in turn, moved towards Ron and Hermione.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked.

"Don't worry." He said reassuringly. "We're just casting the spell so you can actually see the city. Another benefit of it will be that it enables you to understand Elvish.

The two waved their hands quickly across the eyes of the others, and the spell was cast. The city was revealed to them.

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The group descended to the valley floor, and entered the city. They noticed several small groups of armed elves as the passed.

"Harry, who are those elves?" Ginny asked, as she pointed at a passing trio.

"Those are the Sentinels. They are the ones responsible for patrolling the city, and the nearby forest, and ensuring no dangerous creatures get too close to the city. They also have several of our non-elven allies amongst their number, including centaurs and faeries." He said.

Ginny nodded, and continued to look around as they made their way deeper into the city.

Suddenly, a small figure burst from the shadows of a nearby tree, shrieking shrilling.

"Emrys!" The figure called, before tackling him to the ground.

Harry laughed as he felt himself thrown to the ground.

"Hello you little twerp!" He said, as he quickly flipped over, and began tickling the figure beneath him.

"Nooooooooooo!" The young elf, a girl, laughed, trying to squirm away. "Please! Stop!"

"Hmmm." Harry said, as he leaned back. "Should I stop?" He seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Nope!" He said, the started tickling her again.

The others watched this for a few moments, before Allia intervened.

"Emrys, you really must let her up. For one, we need to get to the palace, and secondly, she looks like she needs to breathe!"

Harry nodded, before standing up, pulling the young girl up with him. She looked to be about seven.

"Everyone," he said, turning to the others, "I'd like you to meet Evelyn, my cousin. Evelyn, meet Albus, my grandfather, Remus Lupin, Ron, Hermione and Ginny."

The young girl looked at each in turn, before her eyes stopped on Ginny, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"So Emrys," she began, "when ar-" She was interrupted by Harry clapping his hands over her mouth.

"What?" He asked, looking at the others who were looking at him shocked. "She has a loud and rather annoying mouth, and whatever she had been about to say can't have been- Ouch!" He cried, pulling back his hand. "She bit me!"

Evelyn looked up at him, smiling innocently.

"Would I do such a thing?" She asked sweetly.

"Yes!" Chorused Harry and Allia together.

Evelyn stuck her tongue out at them.

"Twerp." Harry said, looking down at her affectionately. "What brings you here anyway?"

"Oh Emrys, I have the best news! Mum's pregnant! I'm gonna have a baby brother!" She said happily.

"Really?" He asked, and she nodded her head eagerly. "Cool!"

"We really must be going Emrys." Allia said. "You two can catch up later."

Harry nodded. "Run along now, Twerp. I'll see you later."

Evelyn nodded, before dashing back the way she had come.

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When they arrived at the palace, Ginny was shocked by the size of the crowd that had gathered at the building before them. It seemed that there was over a hundred elves there, all apparently eagerly awaiting their arrival. She could hear them talking loudly.

"Is it true?"

"The Lost have been found?"

"The Prince found them!"

"He found them. That means it must be him!"

"He is the one!"

As they approached the crowd, the whispers and discussions quieted, as all the gathered elves tried to see them.

"Harry, what's going on?" Ginny asked him out of the corner of her mouth. "What were they talking about?

"Umm, nothing Gin, don't worry about it." He said quickly, before gesturing for them to follow him up the stairs leading up to the doors of the Palace.

She stood still for a moment, watching the others move away with narrow eyes. Harry was hiding something from her again. She could tell. And whatever it was, she was certain it was a big something.

She hurried to catch up with the others.

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Harry led them through a grand hallway, to a doorway guarded by a pair of elves in battle uniform. As he approached them, the two sentries drew their swords, and with a flourish, knelt and saluted Harry with their blades.

Harry nodded to each of them, before pushing open the doors, leading them into the room beyond.

Ginny gasped at the beauty of the room they entered. Gorgeous wooden pillars led up to a raised dias, upon which rested two thrones, carved beautifully from vibrant, richly hued wood. Upon those thrones sat two regal looking elves, with half crowns upon their brow. She realized this must be the King and Queen.

Harry led them to the foot of the dias, where he knelt before the seated figures. The king stood.

"Get up Emrys." He said, smiling. "So tell us, how have you been?"

Harry smiled as he straightened. "I have been well. You?"

"We're good. So tell us, who are these fine people you have brought with you?"

"Well first is my great-grandfather, Albus Dumbledore." He said, gesturing for Dumbledore to step forward.

The king greeted him regally. "We have heard of your deeds even from here. Your actions speak well of you."

Dumbledore nodded, before stepping to the side, as Harry signaled to Lupin to step forward.

"This is Remus Lupin. One of my father's best friends." Harry said.

The king nodded. "Ah yes, the infamous Moony. We have heard much of you, from both Emrys, and Allia. Perhaps we should watch our backs with you around?" The king asked with a grin. "Especially with what Emrys plans to do on the New Year. We could be in for some trouble."

Lupin smiled nervously, nodding, his eyes alight with hope.

"Next we have Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, my best friends."

The king nodded at each briefly, before turning his eyes to Ginny. Harry moved to her side and smiled at her.

"This is Ginny Weasley, whom I love with every fiber of my being." He said, looking at her lovingly.

"Yes, the one with whom you share the Lorinagalea. It is an honour to meet you." The king said to her. "I am glad Emrys has found someone to love."

"I am too." Ginny said.

"And we now hear that you are an elf?" The king said, looking from her to Harry.

"That's what Harry tells me anyway." She said, while Harry nodded his head.

"Then we must arrange for your entire family to join us here, for if you are an elf, so are they." The queen said, speaking for the first time.

"I'm sure they would love to come." Ginny said.

"Now, we shall have people escort you to your quarters, so you can get settled in. Tonight, we shall hold a banquet to officially welcome you to Falandais." The king said.

Several elves emerged from the shadows, and led them, except Harry, from the hall.

The king and queen rose, gesturing for Harry to join them. The king spoke first.

"The High Counsel was called as soon as we heard of the Lost Line's return. They want to discuss the verification of the Prophecy."

Harry nodded. He'd been expecting this as soon as he'd realized Ginny was an elf. He sighed. Why him? Why did everything have to happen to him?


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: **Of Prophecies and Princes

_The Prophecy Of Light_

given by the Elven Sage Eldan Valarion in the year 6032 after the Vanishing.

_In a time of sorrow,_

_when darkness encompasses the land,_

_and all hope has fled,_

_A Flame shall be lit in the Lands once again._

_In the darkest hour, he shall return,_

_the Prince of Light,_

_Lord of Justice,_

_The Sindalion._

_With him shall come that which was Lost,_

_and it shall herald the dawn of a new age._

_He shall lead the Elven Peoples,_

_and restore to them their former glory._

_That which was broken shall be made whole,_

_and the darkness shall be driven back,_

_and the Light shall reign evermore._

Harry sighed as he dropped the ancient scroll back onto the table before him. In some ways, it did seem to fit, but in others, it just didn't make sense. He looked up at the Elves gathered before him. Here were the leaders of the Elven People. The King and Queen. The two Strike Leaders of the Strike Force. The Grande Archmage of the Mage's Council. The Ranger Lord of the Sentinels. The High Priest of the Temple.

All bowing to him.

"You have got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed, looking at each in turn."This can't be about me!"

"And why not?" The king asked. "You have returned with that which was Lost. There is no doubt about that."

"I know but..." Harry trailed off. "It just doesn't seem right."

"Nevertheless Emrys," the Queen said softly. She was quite fond of the young prince, and thought of him as a son. "We believe it may be you."

"But it doesn't fit! Look at this," he said, pointing at the parchment again. "'When darkness has encompassed the land, and all hope has fled.' How does that apply to right now?"

"To some, all hope has fled." The king said simply.

"You are the Prince of Light Emrys. Whether you except it or not, you are our leader now." His uncle, the High Priest said.

"I don't suppose we could keep this quiet? Tell everyone that you don't believe it?" He asked hopefully.

"Why?" Asked the queen.

"I just don't want that kind of attention. I don't want people believing I'm some sort of Messiah." He said.

The councilors exchanged looks, before nodding slowly.

"Very well, we shall see what we can do about that." The king said.

"I have one other question. Have you had any luck translating this one word? 'Sindalion'?"

The king looked over at Athalan, the Archmage, at this.

"We still don't know. We have spent centuries trying to translate that word, but have found nothing. We think that it must have been a language that was lost in the Vanishing, and that is why we can find no trace of it." Athalan said.

Harry nodded. "Okay then. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" He asked.

"How are your forces holding up?" One of the Strike Leaders asked.

"We're doing okay. There's only been one major attack, and we dealt with it without any casualties on our side." Harry told them.

"Good. Do you expect to be needing any more forces?" The other asked.

"Hmm. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to have another unit of Windriders available, just in case the Dark Lord has airborne forces." He told them.

"Very well, we shall dispatch a unit to rendevous with your forces shortly."

Harry nodded. "Thanks. Was there anything else?"

This time it was Feadir, his uncle, who spoke up.

"Aya and Evelyn wanted to see you as soon as you were here."

"Yes," Harry answered smiling. "I ran into Evelyn on the way in, or rather, she ran into me. I hear Aya's pregnant?"

His uncle nodded happily.

"Aya wants you to stop by at some point during your stay for dinner. She says 'palace food is good, but nothing beats a home made meal.' She was rather insistent."

Harry smiled again. "Well, I've nothing against that, your wife's cooking is magnificent."

His uncle snorted. "Suck up. You're only saying that because she happens to be the best Herbalist there is, and she gives you discounts on all those things you use for your pranks!"

Harry's grin widened. "What's your point?"

Harry rushed through the hallways towards his quarters, his mind whirling. He was still thinking furiously when he opened the door to his room. Then his thought processes froze as he saw what was beyond the door, his eyes wide.

Then a thought entered his head.

'Why was Ginny in his room?'

This was soon followed by another thought.

'Why was Ginny in his room, almost naked?'

This was followed by another thought that made his heartbeat pick up considerable, and blood flowed from his brain, to somewhere below.

'**Sweet Merlin! Ginny's in my room almost naked!"**

And she was. She was currently standing in the centre of the room, and it looked as though he had walked in on her in the process of changing. His eyes swept up her long bare legs, up her thighs, to where they met. His eyes widened as he took in the black panties she was wearing.

His eyes slowly drifted upwards over her smooth stomach to her breasts, which were spilling ever so slightly over the top of her too-small black bra. He couldn't help but think that they were just the right size. Not too big, not too small. He groaned at the thought of how they would fit in his hands.

At the sound of his groan, Ginny's head shot up.

"HARRY! What are you doing? Why are you in my room?" She shrieked, as she grabbed a shirt to cover herself, blushing furiously.

He gaped at her. When he finally managed to find his voice, he managed to speak. "Your room? This is my room!"

"What?" She said. "But, this is where the guide said I was staying. He said the King and Queen officially assigned me this room."

Harry groaned. He'd forgotten how interfering his relatives could be.

"Well they almost certainly did that on purpose. I guess they assumed that since the Lorinagalea bond was stronger than any marriage could be, they could stick us together. Nothing we'll be able to do about it I'm afraid. They're not the King and Queen for nothing." He said, as he flopped down into a chair.

Ginny stared at him for a moment, before a grin slowly spread across her face.

"So," she said, as she slowly approached where he was sitting, a slight swing in her hip. "Did you like what you saw?" She asked, dropping the shirt she had picked up, revealing her scarcely covered form to him once more.

Harry gulped, before blushing furiously, doing a reasonable impersonation of a tomato. He nodded his head vigorously, not taking his eyes from her. He couldn't help but notice the significant tightening in his pants.

Her seductive grin widened as she realized the level of control she had over him at that moment. She leaned over him in the chair, her hands resting on the arm rests of the chair, giving him a clear view into the deep valley between her breasts. He swallowed again, hard.

"Really?" She purred, leaning in further, her lips mere millimetres from his ear. "So what do you plan to do about it?" She whispered seductively.

He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into his lap. As he did so, she brought her legs up, and wrapped them around his torso. As she settled into his lap, she grinned as she felt his reaction to her actions.

He kissed her deeply, his tongue running along her lips. She opened her mouth a little and let his tongue enter. Still kissing, she pulled his shirt out of his pants, and ran her hands up under it, caressing his chest. His hands roamed as well, trailing up and down her back, caressing her smooth skin.

They didn't even notice time passing, they were too caught up in each other. They only broke their kisses long enough to breathe, before starting again. They were so wrapped up in each other, they didn't hear the knocking on their door.

"Emrys, Allia sent me to ask why you're late for the banquet-OH!" Evelyn said, as she opened the door, and caught sight of the two of them. "Ooooooooh! Well looky what I walked in on! I can't imagine what Allia will say when I tell her why you're late!"

Harry sighed, lifting Ginny of him. "What will it take?"

Evelyn grinned. "Hmm, well lets see. Considering the vast amount of teasing you'd get from Allia... a lot!"

"How much is a lot?" Harry groaned.

"I want to go to Hogwarts!"


	17. Chapter 17

**READ THIS: **You know what sucks? I put a lot of work hiding a little thing into the last chapter, that while not part of the actual prophecy, was directly related to it. You were supposed to question it! You would have been all like 'wait a minute, that's not right! You're contradicting yourself.' And I would have been all like 'Or am I?' And you would have been like 'ooh, is this another thing that we think we understand, but really haven't the slightest clue?', and I would have been like 'hehehe. Maybe...' Now its ruined. :'( _sulks in a corner_I wanted at least one person to notice it! No one did! Now I've gone and ruined its hidden foreshadowyness by talking about it, and you're all gonna go back, and be all like, 'this could be important...' And yes, I realize I just went and ruined it even more. Oh well, it wasn't major, just a little hint about the sequel. It wouldn't have told you much, just raised some questions that would have made it more interesting. There'll be a bigger one (hint about the sequel) coming.But still. _sulks in corner_

**Chapter 17: Cormamin lindua ele lle**

"What? Why?" Harry asked, stunned.

"Cause I've heard so many stories about it from Allia and you, and I want to see it!" Evelyn said. "Please?" She begged, looking up at him with wide brown eyes.

Harry sighed. "I'll see what I can do. No guarantees though."

She nodded, her black curls bouncing on her head. "So when will you ask Daddy?"

"Later. I'll have to think about the best way to broach the subject, so it may be a while. I will ask him though, I promise." He said.

"Good. Anyway, you'd better get to the banquet soon." She said, as she headed to the door. "Otherwise Allia may come looking for you herself."

Harry nodded, as he watched his cousin leave. Once the door closed, he turned to Ginny.

"I guess we'd better get going." He told her.

Ginny nodded, before heading to the door.

"Umm, Gin?" Harry said, stopping her. "You may want to put on some clothes."

Ginny blushed, before quickly returning to the task she had been on when he had arrived.

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When Harry led her to where the banquet was being held, she had expected him to lead her to a room like the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Instead, he led her to a clearing in the trees, although the size of the nearby trees was so large that their canopies still covered the clearing. Ginny was surprised by the number of elves there. At the head of the room, she saw the King and Queen seated at what must be the Royal Table. Next to the king sat someone who resembled Harry somewhat, so she guessed he must be his uncle. Next to him was his wife, and then Evelyn, who was giggling over something Allia, seated next to her, had just said. On the Queen's side, there were two empty chairs, and after that were seated the others of their group.

The clearing was also filled with many other tables, and seated on those were even more elves.

Harry led Ginny up to the Royal Table, and sat down next to the Queen, gesturing for her to take the seat next to her

"So what were you doing that made us delay the feast Emrys?" Ginny overheard the Queen whisper to Harry.

"You can blame this on yourself." He whispered back. "You're the one who put the two of us in the same room."

The queen nodded, her eyes twinkling, as she looked over at Ginny, who blushed.

The King rose then, attracting the attention of all those present.

"Before we begin this banquet, we have one announcement. As many of you may have heard, the Lost Line has been found. However, the High Council has deemed that there is not enough proof yet to conclude that Emrys is the one spoken of in the Prophecy. While he has returned with that which was lost, we do not feel there is sufficient proof yet, although we are not ruling out the possibility that he may be the one it speaks of. That being said, let the banquet commence" he declared, before taking his seat again.

Similar to Hogwarts, food magically appeared on the platters before them.

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Several hours later, after everyone had eaten their fill, the tables were cleared away, and musicians began playing. Echoing, beautiful music drifted through the evening air, as couples moved into the centre of the clearing, and began dancing.

She turned to find Harry standing up, gesturing for her to join him. Smiling, she took his hand, as he led her into the centre of the clearing to dance.

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The next morning when Harry woke up, he was dimly aware of a weight on his chest. Opening his eyes, he realized that it was Ginny, her head resting on his chest in her sleep. He smiled as he looked at her pretty face. She looked so perfect in her sleep. He reached down and brushed the hair from her face, running his hand her smooth cheek.

She woke then, opening her eyes slowly, looking up at him sleepily.

"Morning love." He said softly. "Sleep well?"

"Hmm." She murmured, nodding her head. "You're quite comfortable." She said, smiling up at him.

"Good to hear." he said, pulling her up into a tender kiss. "I could get used to waking up like this." He said, once they had ended the kiss.

"Me too." She said, yawning. "S'nice."

"Did you have fun last night?" He asked her.

"Yes." She said, smiling in memory. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"I had to go to several banquets before. I sorta had to learn." He said.

She laughed softly, as she slowly rose from the bed.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked him, as she rummaged through her pack for some clothes.

"I'm taking you all on a tour through the city." He said. "Oh, and you should find some elvish clothes for yourself in that dresser over there." He said, gesturing towards one of the dressers that set against the wall near the bed.

She walked over, and opened the top drawer, squealing with delight at what she saw within.

"Oh Harry, these are so beautiful!" she exclaimed, pulling out a long dress. "Thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it." He said, smiling at her excitement. "I'd advise against one of the dresses though. They may not be the best for a whole day outside."

"But- but..." she said, eyeing the dress longingly.

He laughed, getting up, and taking the dress out of her hands. "Don't worry. You'll have plenty of opportunities to wear it." He said, folding it back up and returning it to the drawer.

"Okaaay." She said, still eyeing the now closed drawer with the dress.

"Here," he said, opening another drawer. "Try this."

He pulled out a dark green tunic, embroidered with leaves along the hem lines.

"Ooh, I like that!" She said, grabbing it, and hurrying off into the adjacent bathroom to change.

Shaking his head, Harry smiled after her, before turning to find his own clothes.

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They'd met up with the others, and after a quick breakfast, headed out into the city. Harry had already shown them the High Temple, as well as led them through many of the walkways that connected the buildings perched high in the trees.

"While most of the building within the city are built in the trees, there are a few that are on the ground, for obvious reasons." He said, as he led them down the stairs that circled a tree, to the ground below.

"As you can guess, the stables are one of the buildings that are on the ground. Can you imagine any of the unicorns trying to climb those stairs?" he asked, as he led them to a wide building, with numerous doors.

"The difference between these stables and what you might have for horses is that this one does not contain those housed within. The unicorns have free access in and out as they desire." He said, as he pushed open a nearby door, and led them inside. He was about to continue talking when a figure came around a corner, carrying a pail. He froze.

"You! What are you doing here?" He demanded in a harsh voice, eyes shining brightly in anger.

Ginny looked closer at the female elf before them. It took her a while to recognize her, as she looked quite different then before. It was Astara. Gone was the manicured look of the female elf. Her formerly long, shiny hair was now a tangled mess of knots and twists. Her formerly pale, flawless skin was now dirty, and sunburned.

"I-I work here now. Its part of my punishment. I have to work here for five years as punishment." She said nervously.

Harry simply stared at her, anger flashing through his eyes, scarcely contained rage threatening to boil over.

"Look Emrys, I'm sorry." She said.

"You could have ruined my life." He said flatly, before turning and leaving the building, not looking back. The others looked after him surprised, before Ginny rushed out to follow him, the others following along behind, wanting to give Ginny a chance to talk to him.

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When Ginny caught up to him, she found him sitting with his back to a tree, his eyes staring straight upward.

"Harry?" She whispered, as she crouched down next to him.

He sat there for a moment longer, breathing deeply.

"I wanted to hurt her Gin." He said, when he finally spoke. "I wanted to make her suffer as she made me. Elves are supposed to be forgiving, and yet I wanted to see her suffer."

"Harry, I don't blame you for wanting to hurt her. I'm sure no one does. When I think about what she almost cost you, cost us, it makes me want to hurt her too." She said reassuringly, resting her hand on his shoulder to support him.

"But how, as my relatives seem to think, can I 'lead my people' if I can't even forgive one of them?" He said weakly.

Ginny looked confused for a moment, before shrugging it off.

"Harry, just forget about her. We're together now, it doesn't matter what's happened in the past." She said, standing up, pulling him up with her.

He smiled faintly now, looking down at her loving eyes, as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.

When the others caught up to them, they were still locked in each other's embrace, Harry resting his head on the top of Ginny's, simply standing there together.

After waiting for the two to notice them for several minutes, Lupin cleared his throat rather loudly.

Harry's head jerked up, looking surprised to see them.

"Oh. Err, right." He said, removing his arms from around Ginny, before turning to the others. "Sorry 'bout that."

"You okay mate?" Ron asked, worry evident in his voice.

Harry nodded, smiling faintly. "I'll be okay." He said, before looking around. "Well, I guess I might as well show you the marketplace, since we're fairly close to it." He said, continuing along the path they were on.

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That night, he wrote a message to the Weasleys.

_Dear Mr. & Mrs. Weasley:_

_Err, well I don't know how to say this in a letter very well. Actually, I do. You're all elves. Merry Christmas! We'll I'm not sure which of you two are, but one of you is, and so are your children. How would you like to bring your family (all the clan. Even Gred and Forge) to Falandais at some point this break? I realize it may be too late of notice for you all to make it before the New Year, but what about for around Ginny's birthday? She'll be going through the transformation into elf, so she might want you all there. Plus I think you might like it here. If you agree, I'll pick you up at the Burrow on whatever available date._

_Anyway, send your reply back with Apollo (the big, shiny, vain bird that brought this), and let me know._

_Thanks!_

_Love_

_Harry._

_P.S. Warn Gred and Forge that if they try any pranks here, they'll be in for a big surprise. Hehehe, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it!_

_-Pagebreak-_

The next day, he got a reply.

_Dear Harry:_

_Well that was certainly a surprising letter. Arthur says he can get some time off at the start of the New Year. Bill and Charlie also say they are available, and Fred and George say that there more than willing to come. They were almost too eager. I'm worried. We'll be more than happy to join you Harry dear. _

_Love_

_Molly (and Arthur, although he's currently in the shed playing with his plugs.)_

_P.S. You are taking care of my Ginny aren't you?_

_P.P.S. What's this about the twins? Should I be even more worried?_

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That day, Harry had to meet with a few people to discuss some things, so Ginny and the others had some free time to wander around.

For some reason, Ginny had the desire to wander around alone, so she separated from the others, and strolled through the halls of the Palace, eventually ending at a large balcony. Stairs led down from the balcony to the ground below, and elves passed back and forth along the path at the base of the stairs. Two guards stood sentry at the top of the stairs.

She leaned against the railing, looking down at the busy elves below. Her eyes were drawn to a group of two dozen elves, all armed, who were marching along the path below.

"Excuse me?" She said, turning to the nearest of the two guards stationed at the head of the stairs.

"Yes miss?" The guard asked, turning his attention to her.

"Where's that War Party going?" She asked.

"War Party? What War Party?" The guard asked, looking at her as if she were crazy.

"That one." She said, pointing at the group of elves.

"Them? Miss, that's no War Party. Heck, there's more elves on one shift of sentry duty for a War Party encamped in the middle of a peaceful area than there are right there!" the guard said. "That's just a group of trainees."

Ginny's eyes narrowed at this. Why did she suddenly have the feeling Harry was keeping something from her again? But she trusted him. She wouldn't make that mistake again. If he was keeping something from her, she could trust him that whatever the reason was, it was a good one.

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The next few days passed quickly, and before long it was Christmas. Although the elves knew that the human legends behind Christmas were entirely wrong (**AN: **No offense to any religious people out there. That sort of thing would screw too many things up), they had found that the human practice of gift-exchange was an enjoyable thing, so the elves also celebrated Christmas.

So naturally, Harry and Ginny were woken up by the bouncy form of Evelyn, who had barged into their room, demanding that they 'wake up now so she could get to open her presents.'

"You realize the presents aren't going to get up and run away don't you?" Harry groaned, as his cousin pulled at him.

She paused for a moment, thinking about this. "Ya, but the earlier I open 'em, the earlier I can see what's inside!" She said, and promptly returned to her attempts to pull him from the bed.

"Go 'way." Ginny said, mumbling into her pillow.

"If you two don't get up right now, I'm telling Allia about before, regardless of any other deal we may have had." Evelyn said, her eyes alight with mischief.

That got the two of them out of bed. Harry shot out of bed, attempting to catch Evelyn before she could make it to the door, but in the process he got tangled up in the sheets, and fell face first onto the floor.

"Ow." He mumbled.

Evelyn was on the floor, laughing so hard she could hardly breathe. Ginny was torn between laughing, and helping Harry get up. Helping Harry won.

"Here," she sighed, as she rose out of bed, to pull him to his feet.

"Thanks." Harry said, grinning sheepishly, before turning to look at Evelyn. "Shouldn't you be getting down to your presents Twerp? You never know, they may fly away, especially if I were to cast a certain spell..."

Evelyn was out of the room in a heartbeat.

Harry and Ginny followed as soon as they had gotten ready. They hurried down to share Christmas with their friends.

Pagebreak-

Harry was nervous. No, nervous was an understatement. Harry was terrified. The days between Christmas and New Years had seemed to fly by, and now it was just a few hours before he had to begin the ritual. He was standing in front of the High Altar of Light, in the Temple.

He sighed, overcome with emotions. In just over a few hours, if everything went well, his parents, and Sirius would be back to him, not to mention Cedric.

He wished he could have Ginny with him, as he knew she would be able to calm him, but that would only interfere with the ritual. It was sketchy enough as it was, he couldn't risk any errors. The ritual had not been performed in over 5000 years, since before the elves had retreated into their forest homes.

He sat down in the centre of the carefully designed runes that had been marked onto the floor. Closing his eyes, he sought his centre, sought the peace provided by the light.

He opened his soul to the light, basking in its warm, comforting presence. He remained like this for the last hours before that crucial moment, in perfect peace, preparing for that which was to come.

And when the time came, when the moon had reached its height in the sky, he thrust forward with his essence, piercing through the veiled shadows that surrounded the Limbo, punching through into the alternate plane of existence.

Pagebreak-

**Cormamin lindua ele lle**

_My Heart Sings to Thee._

**Namarrie yelua ele lle**

_My Mind Calls to Thee._

**Poldorea farua alie lle**

_My Strength Hunts for Thee._

**Oiolaire yalua lle**

_My Essence Summons Thee._

**Lissenen utuua lle**

_My Soul Finds Thee._

**Mela yestua lle aldeon**

_My Love Brings Thee Home._

**Durai meivua lle**

_Faith Rebuilds Thee._

**Adaron cuivua lle**

_Justice Awakens Thee._

Light.

Brilliant, glowing, blinding Light.

He saw.

No.

He felt.

He felt them coming, surging towards him on a wave of golden light.

He flared outward, catching them with webs of lights. Then, he surged back through the tunnel he had pierced through the planes, bringing them back with him. And as he returned, he rebuilt the veils and shrouds that had sealed the Limbo from his plane, that had prevented any travel from the Limbo back into the world.

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He did not notice the hairline fracture he left behind.

But something else did.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: **An Interlude

He did not notice the hairline fracture he left behind.

But something else did.

For in the darkness, shadows lay.

Two blood red spots suddenly glowed eerily in the darkness, as a shadow rose, separating itself from the rest.

Pale lips pulled back in a feral grin, revealing rows of inch long teeth. For the first time in millennia, something had disturbed its slumber.

It sensed the fracture in the boundaries of this plane. A cruel smirk arose on its pale face as it sensed the damage. It would not be enough for them to return. Not yet. But it would be enough to slip something through. Something small.

It summoned an item to it, something that had been trapped within this plane alongside them

A book, bound with black leather, with the image of a laughing skull burned into the cover.

Growling softly, the figure used its power to force the book through the small crack, trusting to its power to place the book where it would be the most beneficial to them.

Its eyes lit with a malicious glee as it thought of what the future would bring. It sensed that it would not be immediately that they at last be freed, but it would not be long now, and they could wait. For over seven and a half thousand years they had languished within this prison plane, banished there by their enemies. They could wait a while longer.

It settled once more amidst the darkness, melding with the mass of shadows beside it. It would not be long now.

Soon, they would be released.

And Darkness would walk the lands once again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Ginny's Transformation**

Harry's eyes snapped open, his body convulsing as it struggled with the power that still flowed through him. Finally, after long moments, the power dissipatedand he collapsed, exhausted to the ground, his energy spent.

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When he awoke again, he found himself in a bed within the hospital wing of the temple, where the priests healed serious injuries. Pulling himself slowly upwards into a sitting position, he saw Ginny asleep in a chair next to him.

He was just about to wake her when Feadir, who, as the High Priest, was in charge of the Healers, enter the room.

"Ahh." He said, as he caught sight of Harry sitting up, awake. "Good, you're awake. Let Virginia sleep, she's been here for a while. Refused to leave your side even."

"How long have I been here?" He asked softly.

"A day and a half. It's eleven o'clock in the morning, January second." Feadir replied, as he moved to check over Harry's energy levels.

"What? Why?" Harry asked in surprise.

"The ritual required a great deal of energy. It seems it drained a large portion of your own personal energy, in addition to that granted by the Light, and as such, left you heavily drained in the end. You've been recharging your energy levels steadily since then, and are now nearly restored." Feadir said, nodding to himself.

"Wait, if it's the second, doesn't that mean that Ginny's transformation..." He began.

"Aye. It's tomorrow. Her family arrived yesterday. They seemed quite worried to find you unresponsive." Feadir said, handing Harry a potion to speed the revitalisation process now that he was awake.

"Where are they?" Harry asked, after drinking the potion.

"Somewhere in the palace I presume. The twins seem to be much attached to Allia. I'm afraid she's giving them advise for new pranking products."

Harry smiled faintly at the thought.

"What about my parents? Sirius? Cedric?" He asked hopefully.

"They still haven't awoken. We have them in another room in the temple. They're energy levels were much lower than yours of course, and it will take them longer to recover. So far, everything looks to have succeeded, although it's still too early to tell."

Feadir moved towards the door.

"I informed your family and friends that I would advise them as soon as you awoke. I'll give you a few minutes though, I'm guessing you'll want to speak to Virginia in private first."

Harry nodded his thanks, and turned to Ginny, as Feadir left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Ginny?" He whispered softly, as he nudged her gently in the shoulder. He smiled faintly as she murmured in quietly in her sleep, nestling herself deeper into the chair. He nudged her harder, and was rewarded by her eyes slowly drifting open.

"Harry?" She whispered, still half asleep. Then her eyes widened, locking onto his. "Harry!"

He laughed lightly as she threw herself onto him, hugging him tightly.

"I was so scared! When we entered the temple and saw you laying there, motionless, I thought you'd died!" She cried into his shoulder. "Even when they said you were fine, that you were just drained, I was still frightened."

"Shhh, Gin. I'm fine." He whispered into her ear. "I'm more concerned about you."

"What?" She asked, as she pulled back, her tears stopping.

"You should be getting ready for your transformation, not sitting in here worrying about me." He said, trying to look stern. "After all, it's not like I was going anywhere."

A small smile spread across her face, and she kissed him soundly.

"How could I not be worried?" She asked, after reluctantly ending the kiss. "Anyway, Feadir said he was going to come get me when it was time anyway, so I wouldn't have missed it.

"Good. So you're parents are here?" He asked. "How'd they take the news?"

Her smile widened. "You should have seen them. When they saw the city...they were stunned, it was great. Of course, I haven't seen much of them, except when they first arrived- Allia brought them by the way -anyway, I haven't seen them much since I've been in here almost the entire time, and the priests wouldn't let anyone else in."

"Ms. Weasley! Are you telling me you neglected your family for me?" He asked, laughing.

"Of course Mr. Potter. I've had them my entire life! I've only had you for a few months." she replied, also laughing.

"Well, then." He said, as he rose from the bed. "I guess we'd better go see them then, eh?"

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When the two entered the palace, they were immediately pounced upon by Ron and Hermione, who had been talking to each other quietly near the door.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, as she hugged him hard. "You're awake!"

"Good to have you back mate." Ron said, cuffing Harry lightly on the shoulder.

"Where is everybody?" He asked them.

"Well," Ron began, "Fred, George and Allia are somewhere in the city, they said something about looking for certain plants for a prank. We think Evelyn followed them off. She seems to idolize Allia. Charlie is off talking to some elf about dragons, seems some elves are nutters too. Mum, Dad and Bill are in the King and Queen's quarters, with everyone else, talking. Your uncle came in about ten minutes ago, he was heading in that direction."

"Then that's where we'll go." Harry said, leading them towards the Royal Families quarters.

Pagebreak-

When they entered the room the others were gathered in, Feadir had apparently just finished updating them on the condition of Harry's parents, Sirius, and Cedric, and had not yet gotten to the fact that Harry had woken up, and as such, his entering the room caused a slight commotion.

"Harry!" Remus said, jumping up. "You're awake! Good!"

The others nodded in agreement of his words.

Harry nodded, "I'm fine, I was just a little tired I guess."

Feadir snorted. "Right, well anyway, as I was about to tell you, Emrys's awake. Which is good, because it means we won't have to fight to get Ms. Weasley to get ready for the ceremony. Emrys, as her life bonded mate, you will have an active role in the ceremony, unlike most."

"Okay. When do we have to be in the temple?" He asked.

"Well, the preparations take about 4 hours, so be there at about seven, and that should be fine."

"No problem. We'll be there."

Pagebreak-

"Now," Feadir said to Harry, half an hour before midnight that night. "This will be somewhat different for her than it was for you. Normally, nothing is required to guide the Transformation, to direct it. However, when someone is life bonded, the one with whom they are bonded is responsible for the Transformation, to appeal to the Light to grant the power of the holy transformation, and to direct it."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"No idea. That's just the way it works." Feadir said, smiling wryly.

"What do I have to do?" Harry asked.

"You'll know. It will be instinctive."

"Alright then, let's do this."

Pagebreak-

When midnight arrived, it found Ginny sitting cross-legged in front of the Altar to the Light, with Harry standing behind her, his hands resting upon her head, his eyes raised, locked on the symbol of Light that was engraved on the wall behind the altar.

When midnight arrived, Harry felt something enter him, compelling him to speak.

"**In the name of the Light, I call upon the power. Grant unto this elf the ability to defend the Light in the name of all that is good. Grant her the Light's blessing, and gift her with the Light's guidance, and favour." **He intoned, hardly aware of the words emerging from his mouth.

He felt a power enter him, searching. He felt himself guiding it, directing it, steering it downwards, until it flowed through his hands, and left him, entering Ginny.

Her head jerked back, her eyes wide and filled with a shining white light. Harry knew that changes similar to the ones he had experienced were almost certainly taking place, but for unknown reasons, he couldn't break his gaze from the symbol on the wall to look down upon her. He felt the energy in her, through their bond, and knew that the transformation was nearing completion.

Then, as had happened to him, she blacked out. He caught her before she could hit the ground, and sat, cradling her head in his lap, gently stroking her head, as he waiting for her to recover.

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That morning, when she had regained consciousness, he helped her to her feet, and paused as he studied the changes.

She had grown several inches, and now had the same tall, graceful look all elves did. Her hair had darkened, going from a bright red to a darker auburn, and had also lengthened, and now reached her mid-back.

Her body had also filled out, becoming more muscular, and capable of the agility that all elves had.

He whistled in appreciation of the changes, and she blushed prettily.

"Oh be quiet." She said, trying unsuccessfully to glare at him. "I can't believe I have pointy ears."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed in mock outrage. "I happen to like your ears!"

She laughed, and arm-in-arm, they went to the palace, where her parents were waiting.

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That day was filled with celebrations, for the King and Queen had announced that not only had one of the Lost Line finally, after many hundreds of years, undergone a transformation, but that Feadir had informed them of the improvement in the condition of those that Harry had brought back, and they were expected to awaken the next day.

That evening, Ginny decided to take a walk, and she drifted slowly away from the celebrations, and headed towards the edge of the city. She didn't notice Harry watch her leave, or follow her quietly.

She didn't know why, but she was compelled to return to the ledge where she had first looked out on the city. When she reached it, she looked out again over the city, but something looked different about it. Something felt different.

"You see it now don't you?" Harry asked, stepping from the shadows, causing Ginny to turn in surprise. "You can feel it, can't you?"

She nodded. "Something's different about the city. The whole forest even. I can't tell what it is."

Harry looked at her with a sad look in his eyes.

"Its dying. The forest, the city. We're dying." He said quietly.

"What?" She asked in surprise.

He nodded to confirm what he had said.

"Its true. Our forests have shrunk. Our people have not been having the same number of children as they used to. Few elf children are being born these days. Vast sections of the city lay empty. This city used to house seventy-five thousand elves. Now barely twenty live here, and that number is shrinking with each passing generation. Only twenty thousand, and Falandais is the largest of the three Elven Kingdoms. Lathadrin has only fifteen thousand living in it, and Erylandros has only twelve thousand at most."

Ginny was shocked to hear this. Just this morning she had thought that the Elves were full off life, and in their prime, and now she found out they were dying?

"Why?" She asked in horror.

Harry sighed, looking out at the city.

"First you must know this. Our people are not what they once were. We have lost many skills and magics that once came easily to us. We are a broken people. The Elven Kingdoms are but the tattered remnants of a shattered empire. Even when they were fully populated, the Three Kingdoms were mere outpost towns of the Elven High Kingdom

"What happened?" She whispered.

He looked at her, a haunted, sorrowful look in his eyes.

"We lost something." He said, his voice barely audible.

"What?" She asked, almost afraid of what he would answer.

"Our homeland." He whispered, unshed tears welling up in his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Of Sorrow and of Joy**

"What?" Ginny asked, confusion evident in her eyes. "How could such a thing happen?"

Harry sighed again, looking at her. "To be honest, we have no idea. Just that an entire continent of our people, our kin, was gone, vanished into the sea, leaving only empty waves.

"But where could a continent have gone? It can't just vanish." Ginny asked.

"That's just it Gin, it did." He said, looking away. "It's sadly ironic in some ways. Our greatest victory shadowed shortly after by our greatest loss."

"Greatest victory?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it Gin, its not important now. Anyway, this is not the time for such sad things. Come, lets return to the celebrations."

"But-" she said, still wanting to know more.

"Leave it Gin. Trust me." He said pleadingly.

"Alright." she reluctantly agreed as she allowed him to lead her back to the city.

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When dawn broke the next morning, it found Harry walking nervously pacing outside the room where the soon to be restored still lay.

"Harry!" Ginny said in exasperation, as she leant against the wall, watching him walk back and forth. "Stop that! You're making me dizzy!"

"Sorry." He said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm just nervous I guess. What if something goes wrong?"

"Harry," Ginny said, moving over to him, and locking eyes with him. "Nothing is going to go wrong."

"Promise?" He asked faintly.

She smiled, hugging him tightly. "I promise. You're parents will be fine. Sirius will be fine. Cedric will be fine. Nothing will go wrong." She reassured him.

He nodded faintly, as if reassuring himself as well.

When they entered the temple room, Feadir quickly approached them.

"Well, they're energy levels have nearly been restored. It looks like they'll wake up shortly." He said, looking at each of them. "I'll go let the others know."

Harry nodded, and took a seat across from the beds, Ginny settling in on his lap.

Minutes passed in silence as the two sat quietly, just resting, and waiting.

Then, movement. One of the figures twitched. It was Cedric.

Harry looked at Ginny nervously again, before looking back at the now spasming Cedric.

Suddenly, Cedric sat up, his eyes opening, eyes wide.

"Whoa!" He said, looking around. "How the bloody hell did I get here? Where the bloody hell is here? What's going on?"

Harry gently moved Ginny off his lap, and stood up slowly, preparing to explain as much as he could.

"Oh! Hiya Harry!" Cedric said then, smiling. "So that's what happened! You did that whole thing with the other thing that I don't really understand, but pretend to?"

Harry gaped at him, confused.

"Aww geez, well you see, I was talking to your parents in there, nice people by the way, and they explained the whole killing curse not killing, only imprisoning thing." Cedric said.

"Oh." Harry said, still confused.

"Well anyway, they said that someone could free them, if they had been present when they 'died', but they said that only elves knew how, so only an elf could free us. Then they said that we'd have to wait 'til after you 'transformed'. Didn't understand that part at the time, but they explained it." He said shrugging. "By the way, nice ears. Anyway, so then Sirius showed up, he's rather odd, kinda annoying really, and they explained it all to him, then we just had to wait, and voila!"

"Oh." Harry said again. "So umm, how did you speak to my parents?"

"Oh, well ya see, there seemed to be multiple sections of that place we were in. Most of it was just empty, but there was an area in there where everyone who had been hit with the killing curse went, sorta like the after-life, but not, and we all hung around there, knowing eventually you'd get around to freeing us. We were sorta like spirits, just hanging around, waiting." Cedric said.

"Oh." Harry said, nodding, still really confused.

"So anyway, how you been doing?" Cedric asked, looking pointedly from Harry to Ginny, who had been standing just behind him.

Thankfully, Harry was saved from answering by the arrival of Remus and Dumbledore.

"Ahh! Mr. Diggory, you're awake." Dumbledore said. "How are you?"

"I'm good sir. Well, I am now anyway." Cedric said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Good to hear. Oh, Harry, just so you know, the others have decided to give you and Remus some time alone with your parents and Sirius. Oh, and Cedric, supposedly you should be free to get out of bed if you want, you're energies should be fully restored, so you can get out of that bed."

"Okay." He said, as he got up out of the bed. As Dumbledore led him out, Harry overheard one last thing.

"Umm, sir, do my parents know about this?"

Pagebreak-

Ginny was about to follow them out, but Harry caught her hand before she could leave.

"No Gin, I want you to stay. Assuming you don't mind Remus?" Harry asked, looking at Remus hopefully.

"Not at all, I'm too excited to care. Besides, I'm sure your parents and Sirius will be most interested to find out you have a girlfriend." Remus said, grinning evilly.

"Oho, what's this?" Came a voice from one of the beds.

All three jumped in surprise, and looked over to find Sirius sitting up grinning widely at Harry.

"Aww, ickle Harry's all grown up!" He said, smirking. "Next thing you know, there will be a whole swarm of little Harry's running around."

"Sirius, if it wasn't for the fact that I love you, and I'm glad you're alive, I'd be hurting you right now." Harry said, as he ran over, and hugged Sirius tightly. "Its good to have you back."

"Well kiddo, its good to be back." Sirius said, before looking up at Remus. "Hey Moony! How's life?"

Remus looked at Sirius for a moment, before a mischievous grin emerged on his face. "Its going well Padfoot. Although, you know Moony isn't really as applicable anymore."

"Huh?" Sirius asked, as Harry withdrew from the hug, grinning as well.

"I'm not a werewolf anymore!" Remus said in a completely emotionless voice, although his eyes twinkled.

"WHAT?" Sirius cried out in shock. "But-but how?"

"Bolt here healed me." Remus said, nodding at Harry.

"Really? That's great. I'm still gonna call you Moony though, it would just seem wrong otherwise." He said. Then something occurred to him. "Bolt?" He asked, looking at Harry, who shrugged.

"It works don't it?" Harry said grinning. "Besides, at least its not Snuffles...Snuffles."

Sirius gasped in mock-anger. "How dare you! I shall get you for that!" He cried, leaping from his bed, and attempting to wrestle Harry to the ground.

"Geez, calm down...Snuffles." Harry said as he fought back.

"This means war!" Sirius cried.

They mock-fought for several minutes, while Sirius loudly proclaimed the injustice of that name, and Harry just laughed at him.

"Hmm. One galleon says Bolt wins." Ginny said, laughing as the two rolled past, each trying to pin the other.

"No." Said Remus, who had to lean against a bed to keep from collapsing with laughter. "My money's on Snuffles."

Eventually, a laughing Harry managed to pin down Sirius, who glared up at him in mock-anger.

"Is this any way to treat you're best, and favourite Godfather? The one and only Sirius Orion Black?" He said, trying to look dignified.

Harry shook his head. "First of all, you're my only Godfather. Secondly you're right, this is no way to treat the Great Sirius Black."He said solemnly, while sitting on his godfather's chest, keeping him down.

Sirius's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"However," Harry continued. "It is the way to treat the one and only Snuffles!"

Suddenly, a snort of laughter came from the bed Remus was sitting on, and they all jumped in surprise.

"Snuffles? Did I hear that right? The Mighty Padfoot, now named Snuffles?" asked James Potter, as he sat up slowly, looking around.

"Prongs." Remus whispered, before enveloping his friend in a hug.

"That's me!" James said, and as Remus broke the hug, he looked around, and caught sight of the pair on the floor.

"So...Snuffles is it?" James asked, trying to contain a smile. "What are you doing on the floor?"

Sirius's eyes were still wide in surprise. Even though he had talked to James in the void, it hadn't seemed real. But here was his best friend, alive, and right there in front of him.

"Well Prongs," Sirius began, looking from James to Harry. "It would seem that someone, and here I refer to the person currently pinning me to the floor, who apparently goes by the name Bolt, also known as your son, has absolutely no respect for his elders!"

Harry still hadn't moved since hearing his father's voice. He slowly got to his feet, unsteadily, looking at his father, trying to decide what to say. Silently, Ginny moved to his side, grasping his hand, giving him her support.

"Umm...hi." Harry said nervously. "Dad."

James looked him up and down as he got out of bed, and moved to stand in front of him.

"You look a lot like me. Except you have your mother's eyes." James said, studying his son for the first time. "You even have my messy hair."

Harry smiled slightly. "You have no idea how many time's I've heard that."

James laughed, before pulling his son into a tight hug. For the first time that he could remember, Harry felt the love of his father, and it seemed to fill a part of him that had been empty.

Then James pulled back, looking over Harry again. "So," He began seriously, his face devoid of any emotion.

Harry swallowed nervously.

James continued. "This is the one question that I absolutely must ask. It is extremely important, and if you fail to answer correctly, well I don't know what I'd do, but you better believe it won't be pretty. This question is the one thing that will decide if you are worthy of your name, and all the privileges that accompany it, as well as all the responsibilities that go along with-"

"James!" A voice cut him off. "Don't you dare scare Harry anymore! He's my son too you know." Harry, who had been listening fearfully to his father's speech, clinging tightly to Ginny's hand for support, looked over his father's shoulder to see Lily, his mother, slowly getting out of bed.

"Lily, stop!" James said, blocking her from passing him to hug Harry, as she was clearly desperate to do. "This must be done, and done properly!"

Lily sighed, smiling at Harry, love evident in her green eyes. "Don't mind your father, he can be a real idiot at times. Just hurry up James, you will not keep me from my son because of your immaturity."

"Hey" James said, in outrage. "I resent that!"

Lily just shook her head at him. "Just get on with it."

James cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying. This question is the one thing that will decide whether you are worthy of your name and title, and all the accompanying things. Are you ready?"

Harry nodded fearfully, butterflies racing madly in his stomach.

"Do you, Harry James Potter, also known as Emrys Aethi Caldarain, also known as Bolt, solemnly swear you are up to no good?" James asked, and a smile broke out on his face.

Harry breathed out the breath he had been holding. "That wasn't very nice, you bloody terrified me, and-" he was interrupted.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" James bellowed, his face once again dead serious.

"Yes, yes, I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" Harry said quickly.

"Well that's a relief!" said James.

"Hahahahaha! You should have seen your face Harry! Priceless!" Sirius said, from where he was laughing on the floor.

"Sirius..." Harry said, closing his eyes in annoyance.

"Yessss?" Sirius drawled.

"You know how I said I didn't want to hurt you?"

"Umm..."

"Don't tempt me." Harry finished.

James grinned widely at this, before being pushed aside as Lily moved past him, to hug her son tightly.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. You should never have had to live with Petunia!" Lily said, crying slightly.

"It's okay Mum, really." Harry said awkwardly, hugging her back.

She pulled back, smiling slightly at him.

"You're too polite for your own good." She said. "I don't know how you could have survive living with her, and that horrid Vernon."

"Well that doesn't matter anymore." James said, looking at Harry with pride. "He's obviously survived, and while I wish you could have stayed with Sirius for your childhood, there is one benefit of not doing so."

Sirius, standing up, looked confused for a moment. "What do you mean?"

James looked over at Sirius, smiling widely. "Why, he didn't get corrupted by you of course!"

Harry laughed at the insulted look on Sirius's face.

"Don't worry Snuffles, we still love you." He said, while Ginny giggled quietly into his shoulder.

It was then that James noticed the redheaded girl beside Harry. He raised his eyebrow as he took in their joined hands, and closeness.

"And who is this?" He asked, nodding at her. Lily smiled softly at Ginny, as both Harry and her blushed.

"Umm, well, Dad, Mum, I'd like you to meet Ginny-" Harry began, but stopped as Ginny nudged him.

"Hi." she said, as she pushed past Harry, standing directly in front of James. "My names Ginny Weasley, also known as Huntress. I'm Harry's girlfriend." She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to comment.

James was taken aback somewhat by her forwardness, but Lily stepped forward.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"Well, umm, we're also lorinagalea." Harry said.

James's eyes widened, before smiling. "Really? Well, its good to know my son is a success with the ladies!"

Lily, without even turning her head, smacked James upside the head.

Sirius snorted with laughter, before grabbing James, and hugging him. "Its good to have you back Prongs!"

"So" James said, after breaking from Sirius. "How is everybody? Allia, and Feadir, and everyone? Let's go say hi!"

"Feadir had a daughter." Harry told him, as they began to head to the door.

"Really?" James asked. "I look forward to meeting her."

"She's worst then all of you combined."

"Oh really?" James said, his eyes alight with glee. "Then I definitely look forward to meeting her!"

Harry smiled as he looked across the table to where Allia and James were talking animatedly. The reunions had gone well. He laughed to himself as he thought back to the moment when they had returned to where the others waited.

_Flashback_

"_Prongs!" A loud call had rung out, as Allia rushed forward to embrace him in a hug, only pulling away after charming his hair to flash neon colours._

"_Flame." James had said. "Its good to see you too."_

_Then she had turned to Sirius._

"_Padfoot! So nice to finally meet you!" She had cried, holding out her arms, and approaching him, to hug him as well._

"_Oh no." He said, backing up. "Prongs has told me all about you!"_

_Pouting sadly, Allia had turned to Lily, to hug her happily._

_It was then that the twins registered what they had just heard._

"_Wait...Prongs?" Fred said, looking in awe at James._

"_Padfoot?" George said, equally in awe, looking at Sirius. _

_Sirius smiled. Turning to Remus, he spoke._

"_Fans of our's Moony?"_

_Remus nodded._

_Both twins dropped to their knees. _

"_We are not_ _worthy, we are not worthy." They had intoned._

_End Flashback._

He smiled at the feeling of happiness that pervaded the room. Beside him, Ginny was happily talking to Lily, and laughing at stories of him as a baby. For the first time, he felt complete, and truly happy. His parent's return filled a whole in him he had not even known existed.

"Harry!" He suddenly realized Evelyn, who had been seated on his other side, had been trying to get his attention.

"What? Oh, sorry Twerp, watcha want?" He asked.

She eyed him. "I don't think you've talked to father yet have you? About what we talked about?"

He smiled nervously. "Umm, well. About that, umm...I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"You better...I'm sure you wouldn't want someone like say, Padfoot, to find out?" She said.

He paled. "No, definitely not. I'll talk to him tomorrow, I swear."

"Good!" She replied, turning away.

That night, he dreamt.

He was walking, alone, in a dark forest, when he caught a glimpse of something shining in the moonlight in a clearing ahead. He walked into the clearing, and froze in awe at the sight before him.

Standing before him stood a dragon, nearly twice the size of any dragon known to his people. Its golden scales glimmered in the moonlight, giving it an ethereal quality. Harry gasped at the beauty of the beast before him.

"What are you?" He asked in awe. "What is this?"

The giant creature regarded him for a moment, before speaking.

"**THE TIME OF YOUR CHOICE NEARS. WILL YOU BE READY? WILL YOU BE WILLING TO MAKE THE NECESSARY SACRIFICE?"**

Harry looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, but before he could finish, the great dragon had spread its wings, and taken off, vanishing rapidly from his sight.

The forests around him faded, and he woke up suddenly.

"What was that?" He asked himself.

Somewhere else, where a pale white light infused the entire area, and twinkling starlight flickered past, two figures stood.

"Do you think that was wise?" The first, a tall figure, with short, dark hair asked. A shimmering silver breastplate adorned his chest, and an aura of power seemed to sparkle around him.

The second figure, a tall woman, her long brown hair adorned with woven leaves, wearing a dark green robe and bearing a tall wooden staff, with a similar aura of power nodded.

"I believe so. It will not hurt to prepare him somewhat for the road that lies ahead."

The other nodded.

"I suppose not. And the Sleepers?" He asked.

"They are ready. When the call is made, they shall awaken." She said.

He nodded, satisfied.

"That is good. For when the time comes, their strength shall be needed. In the coming darkness, they alone can stand against the Enemy."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: A History Lesson**

_The time before the Vanishing is shrouded in mystery. Many things have long since been forgotten by our people. Much of the knowledge and information on the ways of the Empire is contained within books that none can read, for the language they are written is unrecognized by even the eldest of scholars. _

_Little is known of the ancient ways of those who lived within the Empire. Texts found buried in the darkest corners of the Royal Library speak of things that remain a mystery to all who read them. Pictures of two figures, one male, wearing a shining silver breastplate, and the other female, bearing a large staff and wearing emerald robes, are pictured extensively in many of the ancient, unreadable texts, although there is no mention of them whatsoever in later texts. Little is known of the two, other than that from the number of times their images are shown, they were held in extremely high regard, although it is not known why._

_Very little was found to mark the passing of the Empire. The only information that remained to hint about what may have occurred came from a fragment of a journal, which arrived by phoenix not an hour after the Empire vanished._

_Below is a transcription of what was said. Sadly, some portions of the text were unreadable._

"_It has come again . . . the great . . . it speaks of what will come . . . tragedy, death, sorrow. _

_The decision . . . made . . . go unto the . . . (the next page was completely illegible. Then it continued.)_

_By their powers, we shall go. In the name of the Light, so shall it be."_

_The writing on the page suddenly changes, another hand having written what followed in bold, smooth lettering._

"_**We are gone, but we are not lost."**_

Harry dropped the book back down onto the table, and stood again.

"Damn." He muttered to himself, before moving once more to the nearby shelf.

He had risen from bed immediately upon waking, and made his way to the private library of the royal family. It contained all the truly ancient texts, and anything considered being of great value. Something about the dragon in his dream had seemed familiar, a strand of recognition tugging on his mind. It was almost as though when he had undergone the knowledge transfer spell, an isolated chunk of information had been sealed of separate from the rest, and made inaccessible. It felt like . . . something had leaked, and it was driving him mad. All he could . . . sense . . . was that the dragon held some sort of significance, but he just couldn't place it, and so he was here, in the private library, going through text after text of before-the-Vanishing records, searching for any reference to it.

He pulled another book from the shelf, and dropped back into his seat, opening it.

_It is known, from a select few elves who had seen it for themselves, that the might of the Imperial forces was far greater than that of the elves today. It is said that one Elven Bladedancer, the Elite Guards of the High Kings of the Empire, would be more than a match for more than a score of the elite members of the Strike Force. It is said that in battle, they would wield their swords with such speed that it was a blur, singing as it cleaved the very air itself._

Harry would have liked to continue reading this, as he had heard tales from Allia during his training about the skills of the warriors of the Empire. However, he knew that it wasn't as important at the moment, and he just couldn't get rid of that feeling that his dream had meant something.

He sighed as he lowered his head to the table, shaking it slowly with annoyance. He then started in surprise as suddenly he felt hands on his shoulders, massaging them gently. He immediately calmed however, as he realized who it was.

"What are you doing awake?" He asked, not looking up.

"I woke up and you were gone, so naturally I came to find you." Ginny answered, continuing the relaxing motion of her hands, as she felt tense muscles in his shoulders loosen.

"How _did _you find me though? I don't recall including this room in the tour." He asked.

Ginny shrugged. "I don't really know. I just . . . felt you. I followed the feeling, and got here. What are _you _doing up so early?" She asked.

"I had a dream," he answered. "I couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to come here to look for something."

"A dream about what?" She asked, curious, as she ran her fingers down his back, making him shiver.

"I'm not sure. It was . . . odd. I was alone, standing in the middle of a clearing, and suddenly, this great dragon appeared, and spoke." He replied.

Ginny's fingers froze in place at his words.

"I-I had that dream too," she stuttered.

Harry turned around to look at her, his eyes searching her face.

"What didit say?" He asked.

She shook her head, as though trying to clear it.

"It was . . . strange. It mentioned something about a sacrifice, but it wasn't speaking to me. It was as though I was simply observing your dream." She said, looking at him questioningly. "Is that possible?"

"I suppose," he said slowly. "The soul bond between us could do that I think. I'll have to ask my parents later."

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He looked over at the figure standing next to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Were you expecting that?" He asked.

She nodded her head, smiling slightly.

"Indeed. I...tampered with a few things." She said, eyes glowing faintly. "This will definitely make our plans go somewhat smoother."

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Ginny nodded, before looking over Harry's shoulder at the book he had been reading.

"So you were looking for information about the dragon? Any luck?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. Nothing, and I know it's important too. Dragons have always been . . . an enigma, for as long as our people can remember. Neither Light nor Dark. Simply there."

Both paused suddenly as they heard a loud yell coming from the general direction of the guest quarters.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a moment, then spoke in unison.

"Marauders."

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The two rushed through the halls, their footsteps echoing off the hardwood floors. They followed the loud sound of laughter to Remus's room.

Entering, they found a laughing Sirius and James rolling on the floor, an amused Lily standing quietly beside the door, and a very annoyed, very wet Remus standing over a wet bed.

Harry raised his eyebrow as he looked at his mother.

"They do this often?" He asked.

Lily nodded, grinning. "All the time."

Meanwhile Remus was sputtering madly, dripping on the floor.

"YOU DUMPED ICE COLD WATER ON ME!" He yelled.

James and Sirius stopped laughing and sat up on the floor.

"Did we do that Padfoot?" James asked, with a perfectly straight face.

"Why Prongs, I do believe we did!" Sirius replied, equally straight faced.

"Wh-why?" Remus asked, shaking water from his hair.

"Why not Moony?" James asked.

"Indeed? Why wake you normally, when we can wake you the fun way!" Sirius said, grinning.

Remus sighed, shaking his head, before a grin slowly spread across his face.

"God I missed that!" He said, pulling James to his feet and hugging him.

After Remus broke the hug, he began to move toward the door.

"Well, I guess its time for breakfast then!" he said, heading out the door, but not before waving his wand in James and Sirius's general direction, and mumbling something under his breath.

Harry burst into laughter as his father and godfather's hair turned a brilliant pink.

Sirius quickly conjured a mirror, and looked at his reflection.

"Not bad. I look damn fine!" He said, nodding happily.

"Whatever you want to believe Padfoot," James said.

They were already all leaving the room before Sirius figured it out.

"Hey wait a minute . . . "

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"Hey Dad," Harry began, after they had all sat down to breakfast. "You and Mom have the same bond as me and Gin, do you ever . . . share each others dreams or anything like that?"

James looked pensive for a moment, before shaking his head. "Nope. Sometimes we can feel each others emotions, if they're strong enough, and we can always seem to sense where the other is, but we've never shared dreams or anything like that. Why?" He asked.

Harry shook his head. "Never mind."

James looked at his son for a moment, before shrugging, and returning to his meal.

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After a leisurely breakfast, Harry looked over at Evelyn, and, sighing, stood up, and walked over to Feadir.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked his uncle.

The elf looked at him for a moment, before shrugging, and standing.

"Sure thing. Lets go out into the hall, since it seems like you want to talk in private." Feadir said.

Harry nodded, and followed his uncle out into the hall, Evelyn, having caught sight of them, watching their progress with excitement.

"So what was it you wished to discuss?" Feadir asked.

"I think Evelyn should go be allowed to return with us to Hogwarts. I mean, she's easily magically equal to the first years, and I'm sure we can ensure her training continues." Harry said quickly.

Feadir narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?" He asked.

Harry swallowed nervously. "Well, you know, she really should be allowed to experience life outside Falandais, I think it would be good for her, and-"

"She's blackmailing you isn't she?" Feadir asked, a grin slowly spreading on his face.

Harry nodded sheepishly.

"Little minx." Feadir said affectionately. "What's she got on you?"

"She . . . walked in on Gin and me . . . in a private moment." Harry answered.

"Let me guess, she goes to Hogwarts, or she tells Allia?" Feadir asked, grinning at his nephews obvious discomfort.

Harry nodded again.

"Well, I'll tell you what," Feadir said, putting an arm around Harry shoulders. "I'll let her go on one condition."

"And that is?" Harry asked.

"Well you see, a long time ago, there were two brothers," Feadir began.

"Ooooh boy," Harry sighed.

"Yes well, anyway, the older brother was going to follow the tradition of their branch of the family, and attend a human school, while the younger wanted to go to Falandais, and become a priest. So, one the eve of the older's departure to attend said human school, he played . . . a prank on his younger brother, who while being poor at pranks himself, vowed to get revenge eventually," Feadir said.

"What do I have to do?" Harry asked, sighing.

"I want you to get him. Good. Prank him, in a way that will forever be remembered, and I'll give Evelyn permission."

"I hate you." Harry said simply. "Now I know where Evelyn got it."

Feadir grinned widely. "Indeed. You have two days."

Harry stared in shock. "Two days? That's it?" He sputtered.

Feadir shrugged. "Unless you want Evelyn to tell Allia . . . "

Harry grimaced, shuddering. "Two days it is then."

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That afternoon, Harry watched as Dumbledore approached Lily, and told her that he was her mother's father. Harry smiled somewhat at the shocked look that passed her face, then realization dawned, and she hugged him.

Tears threatened him, upon seeing the joy of their realizations. It felt good to have a family again.

He turned his eyes to his father, pondering his options. It would be difficult to prank such a well-known and expert prankster. There was little that his father had not seen or done, according to Allia's stories anyway. There was little he was afraid of, or didn't like with a passion. Slytherins, Snape, puppets, and, for some odd reason, pickles, were the few things his father didn't like-wait, Snape!

Harry grinned slowly, a plan already forming in his mind.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Snape-ified**

Lily watched her son leave the hall behind Feadir anxiously. She and James had both expected that since Harry had never really had a family, he would have trouble understanding how to react. They had agreed not to push him, hoping that over time, he'd start to open up his emotions more with them.

Still, she had had to restrain herself greatly from wrapping him in a hug and never letting go when she had first seen him upon awakening.

She sighed. Time would tell.

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Harry moved through the hallway quickly, his destination being his room. He needed to check through his possessions for a few necessary items for his planned prank.

He entered his room and promptly opened his trunk, rummaging around inside its magically enlarged interior. He began pulling things from it, digging deeper, until uncovering something he had forgotten about.

"Oops," he said, as he pulled said item out of the trunk, giving it a bit of a shake.

Nothing.

He shook again.

Still nothing.

He took it in both hands, and shook it vigorously, as the thing contained within it bounced against the sides.

"Uh oh..."

He opened it slightly, reaching in, and poking the thing lightly. Nothing.

He poked harder, and was rewarded with a slight twitch, and wobble from the prone rat.

Harry gave a breath of relief, and focussed his magic, healing the rat somewhat, before closing the door to the cage, having reassured himself that Pettigrew was still alive, however barely, and would at least stay alive for a while yet.. He lifted the cage to eye level, looking the half-dead rat in the eyes.

"Can you believe I forgot all about you? It's a wonder you didn't suffocate in there," He said lightly. "Well, might as well deal with you now."

With that, Harry started back towards the hall, his arm swinging, the rat bouncing against the walls of the cage in time with Harry's steps.

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He entered the hall quietly, the cage hidden behind his back, as he approached the table where his parents and god-father sat.

"Hi," he said, grinning widely, in anticipated glee.

His father rose an eyebrow at his rather obvious happiness.

"Umm...hi?" James replied, looking confused.

"Guess what?" Harry asked.

"What?" Lily asked, confused, while Sirius looked on. Remus, sitting next to him, watched the conversation for a moment, before understanding dawned in his eyes and he grinned.

"Well, I know how much you just love animals...so I got you a pet," with that, he pulled the cage from behind his back, and plopped it down onto the tabletop.

The hall echoed in silence, as his parents and godfather stared wide-eyed at the cage, and the rat contained within.

James felt his breathing stop as he beheld the traitor that had stolen away his chance to raise his son. He rose slowly to his feet after a moment, his face a mix of emotions. One part of him wanted nothing more than to take out a dagger and end the rodent's miserable existence. The other part of him however, knew that he couldn't. He couldn't kill him. Not in cold blood. It was one thing to slay in battle. It was entirely another thing to do so when not.

Sirius however felt no such restriction. Rising to his feet, he made a lunge for James's dagger, ripping it from its sheath, and advanced on the caged rat, his eyes burning with vengeance and rage.

A hand shot out, gripping him by the wrist, and Sirius looked up, into his godson's deep green, and suddenly very sombre eyes, and he paused.

"Sirius," Harry began, in scarcely more than a whisper. "I stopped you from killing him once, and look what happened. I won't stop you again, if it is what you truly desire. But are you absolutely sure it _is_ what you desire? Once the blood is on your hand's, it never comes off."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment, emotions flashing across his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply, before nodding silently, and dropping the dagger to the table.

"What are you going to do to him?" Sirius asked after a moment.

"We cannot kill him. But we cannot set him free. He'll stay here," Harry said. "Under the watchful eye of the Sentinels, where he can bring harm to nothing. I know its not what you may wish Sirius, but something tells me he may yet have some uses."

James nodded in satisfaction, as he signalled to one of the nearby guards.

"Take this," he said, handing the elf the cage. "To Lord Elrain. Tell him this rodent is now officially a charge of the Sentinels."

The guard gave a curt nod of his head, before turning and walking silently out of the hall, on his way to deliver the rat into the custody of the Ranger Lord.

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Harry walked aimlessly along the winding street that afternoon, mind wandering, lost in thought. A part of him had badly wanted to take his revenge upon Wormtail. It scared him how badly.

He suddenly paused in his walk, recognizing where his wandering steps had taken him. He grinned, mind turning back towards the prank against his father, and quickly took the steps leading up the door of the building in front of him.

"Hello," he called in Elvish, sticking his head in through the door, looking around the dim, plant filled interior. The smell of soil and life was rich in the air. "Anybody here?"

"Emrys?" A voice called from an adjacent room, as a tall, female elf entered the room, dusting off her hands. She approached him, stopping a few feet in front of him, looking him up and down.

"Hmmph. Well I must say its about time you actually paid me a visit...I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me," she said, glaring at him.

"Well, uh-you see," Harry stuttered, looking uncomfortable.

Suddenly she grinned, and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh don't be silly dear, I'm just fooling. Feadir's told me all about what's been happening, I'm not surprised you've been busy," she said, releasing him from the hug. "You look well."

"Thanks. So do you," Harry said.

"So let me guess why you're here. Hmm...from what Evelyn told me-"

"She told you?" Harry interrupted, looking wide-eyed.

"Of course she did! She knows better than to keep such interesting pieces of information from her mother! Anyway, I'm guessing that you're here because my dear husband wants you to do some silly prank on your father in order for him to grant Evelyn permission to go," she said wisely.

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, looking somewhat dazed.

"Feadir was looking far to happy at lunch this afternoon, and kept getting a very...disturbing little grin on his face. That and I know he never forgot about something your father did to him ages ago, and has spent several hours a day the past few days trying to convince Allia to pull some prank on him. His sudden happiness, combined with what Evelyn told me, it wasn't hard to figure out he's getting you to do it for him," she said, shrugging.

Harry shook his head, smiling faintly.

"Sometimes Aya, you just seem so bloody smart its creepy," he said, smiling at his aunt.

"Yes, well. So what did you need?" She asked, cutting straight to the point with a wry grin.

Harry eyed the room carefully, acting as though nervous about spies, before leaning in to whisper into her ear.

Aya's eye's widened, and she took a step back.

"I can understand the first two, good for causing illusions, but why on earth do you need a phial of Silverleaf oil?" she asked suspiciously.

Harry's eyes twinkled.

"Wait and see dear aunt...wait and see."

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Harry smiled innocently as he moved to sit between Ginny and his mother that evening at supper. He was a few minutes late, but no one seemed to notice, other then the two seated next to him.

"Harry...why are you late?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

"No reason, don't worry about it," was all he replied, grinning down at his plate, as he began to fill it with the food that magically appeared on the table.

Ginny accepted his answer, before looking in confusion at the food spread before them.

"Why are there mint humbugs on the table?" She asked confused, looking around the table to see several bowls of them spread out at even intervals.

"No real reason. Seemed like a good idea at the time I suppose," Harry replied, giving a quick look to Dumbledore who sat across the table from them, and flashing a quick smirk. "Don't eat them though."

"Hmph," Lily said, looking at them with slight disgust in her face. "I don't know why either. None of the elves I know like them anyway...other then your father of course. Don't know what he sees in them...honestly..."

Harry smirked, his grin widening.

Ginny quickly looked from the bowl before them to Harry and back again, her mind quickly making the connection.

"Harry...where were you before?"

"Who, me?" He asked, not looking at her, as he looked up the table to where his father was helping himself to several of the mint humbugs. "Just had to make a quick trip to the kitchen..." he said, before making eye contact with Feadir, and giving an almost unnoticeable nod of his head.

Feadir practically bounced in his seat in excitement, eyeing his brother in anticipation.

Harry discretely lifted his hand, and with a slight wave, activated the magic held within the humbugs that he had prepared especially for his father.

Sirius looked up from his plate, opening his mouth to speak to his friend, and stopped in horrified shock, mouth open, revealing the half-chewed food within. His mouth flapped for a bit, eyes widening, before he tried to stand up and back away quickly. Unfortunately, he tripped over his chair, and fell backwards to the floor with a thud, eyes still locked on James.

Remus looked over when he heard Sirius's commotion, and was too stunned to move as he stared in mixed horror and shock at James.

Lily looked beside her and was just stunned, eyes wide in shock.

Feadir was gleeful, his eyes alight with happiness, bouncing in his seat, laughing.

Ginny had been watching when Harry had lifted his hand, she had felt his magic reach out and touch something.

She had seen as James's face seemed to..adjust itself. His nose became longer, and somewhat crooked, lips thinner, skin paler.

She watched as he slowly changed from himself...to Snape.

"What?" James asked, looking around in confusion, seeing the varying reactions. "What?" He asked again when no one answered.

Sirius pointed at him, and stuttered; "S-s-s-s-nape!"

Looking confused, James conjured a mirror on the table, and looked into it.

And froze in horror.

"Wha-ahh!" He cried in horror. He lifted a hand tentatively to his hair, and felt it. It was oily and greasy. "My hair! Noo!" He whispered in a voice of utter horror and agony, before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted to the floor.

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That evening, the last before the groups departure from Falandais, Harry and Ginny sat on a chair before a roaring fire within their chamber, simply sitting and enjoying each other's company.

Feadir had readily agreed to sending Evelyn to Hogwarts. He had claimed the look on his brother's face had more then made up for anything he had ever suffered, and was well worth it.

Harry smiled faintly at the memory of his father's annoyance when he had woken from his faint.

Ginny smiled as well a she saw the trace of the smile on his face, and sighed contentedly, snuggling herself closer, her head resting on his shoulder.

"It's been a very eventful few days hasn't it Emrys?" She asked, using his elven name. It just felt...appropriate to her for some reason.

"That it has," he agreed, as he noticed Apollo come flying in through an open window. It had been several days since he had seen the phoenix. The phoenix glided silently to the mantle over the fireplace, where he began to croon, singing softly, but with an unusual...power behind his song. "And it's about to get more eventful,"

"Hmm?" Ginny mumbled, looking over at Apollo.

"Not him Beloved," said Harry, and her heart swelled at his word. "There," he said, indicated the fireplace.

Looking closely, she saw something sitting within the flames. Something that was slowly glowing brighter and bolder shades of silver and blue.

Apollo's song grew in volume as the egg began to rock, rolling from the fireplace as if intentionally, and stopping mere feet from their chair.

Looking at Harry, and seeing him nod encouragement, Ginny rose from the chair, and knelt before the egg, her hand nervously reaching out towards the egg.

Apollo's song flared higher in volume as her hand touched the surprisingly warm, but not hot, shell of the egg, just as a large crack spread across the egg.

Apollo's voice crescendoed upwards further as the egg split open suddenly, revealing the pale blue bird within.

"_I am reborn." _The phoenix's voice said, and Ginny was surprised for a moment that she could understand it, before remembering she was now an elf. _"It has been...a long time."_

Harry's eyes widened as he heard the words. Apollo had said much the same thing when he had hatched...

"_That it has Aerys." _Apollo said, stopping his singing. _"It is good to see you again. I have been waiting for far too long."_

The new born phoenix nodded its small head at Apollo briefly, before looking Harry in the eye for several long moments, before turning her attention to Ginny.

"_My mistress," _The phoenix said, bowing her feathered head low.

Ginny stared in astonishment, tears threatening her eyes as she looked at the beautiful bird who was now her familiar, and her friend.

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The group rode out of Falandais that morning, making there way up the trail towards the edges of the enchantment that hid the elven forest from others.

As they reached the ridge that overlooked the city, Harry once more paused.

He didn't know why...but he had a strange feeling he wouldn't be seeing Falandais again for quite some time.

He looked down over the city, taking in all the green and beauty...

And suddenly his vision flashed, flaring white briefly, then returning but drained of colour.

_He looked down on a Falandais unlike the one he had seen moments ago. Flames licked the tops of the great trees, their leaves burnt and branches dead. The buildings billowed a black smoke that clogged the air, smothering and dark. _

_And on the ground, an unknown shadow, an inky black darkness, spread out across the once green and lush ground, and all that it touched turned to darkness and death._

His vision flared again, returning to normal.

"Emrys?" Ginny called back, looking at him oddly.

He shook his head, trying to clear it, and looked down into the valley again, but it seemed still full of life as it always had.

Shaking his head in confusion, Harry turned Rathi, and rode off after the others.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: What's a Wonka?**

"No, don't hold the blade at such a high angle," Harry said, swatting the sword from Ginny's grasp. "You want to be able to smoothly follow through with the strike."

He demonstrated the move again, going slowly through each position, as Ginny watched, eyes studying the blade in his hands.

It was early, their breath visible in the early chill, the students of the castle in who's shadow they now stood still sleeping silently in their beds. The dawn sun had only barely begun to peak out above the horizon when the duo had emerged from the castle, carrying only their swords, and wearing simple sparring clothes. Him in just a pair of loose pants, topless despite the cold, and her in a form-fitting leather vest, leaving her arms bare, and a pair of tight leather pants.When she had begun her training, she had been concerned about the cold. He had quickly told her it wouldn't be a problem.

Ginny nodded, wiping sweat from her forehead, as she held her blade at the ready. He had been right. The workout made her not even notice the chill.Nodding once, she launched into the attack.

The blade swung upward, cutting across, clanging with Harry's own, which was quickly raised to block, and deflecting upwards. She quickly turned the blade, letting it's own momentum carry it around, flowing into a slash, aimed for his throat. Harry stepped back quickly, the blade passing by harmlessly, and ducked, swinging his leg out, trying to knock her from her feet. She managed to avoid his sweeping leg, jumping to dodge it, and reversed her blade, stabbing downwards at him again. She felt a surge of glee as her blade nicked him in the cheek before being knocked aside by his own once more.

However, her glee quickly turned to nervousness as he rolled sideways, out of the reach of her sword, and stood.

"Well done," he said simply, then a slow smile began to spread across his face.

"Eep," was all she had time for, before he had launched into the offensive, his blade flashing forward. She raised hers quickly, frantically blocking the first blow, and the second. She stumbled backwards as the rain of blows continued, noticing several that she failed to block, but he kept from striking her skin. In one quick move, he swatted the sword from her hand once more, before bringing his to her throat, holding it there long for just a moment, before smoothly dropping it, and returning it to its sheath on his back.

"Your getting better," he said, smiling.

Her chest heaved, trying to catch her breath. "Really?"

"Yes, actually. You lasted longer then I expected, not to mention this," he said, bringing his hand up to the nick on his face, touching it lightly. It quickly healed as he pushed a touch of magic to it. Then he grinned. "I must say though...you look quite good like that."

She looked down in surprise, and her eyes widened as she saw one of the straps of her vest had been cut, and it was now dangled low on her shoulder, showing a fair bit of skin. She looked back up at him and saw him smirking slightly.

She blushed a little, hiding her hands behind her back, as she dropped her head, her hair falling across her eyes.

Harry smiled briefly, and quickly dodged the throwing knife that passed by his chest a moment later. Gin pouted sadly as she looked up at him, eyes sparkling.

"Aww...how'd you know?" she asked sadly.

"Firstly, I gave you those daggers you've so cleverly concealed in those hidden pockets of yours," he said, stepping forward, and catching her wrist before she could throw the other. "And secondly," he continued, looking down into her eyes. "I know you too well for that to work m'dear."

She pouted again, as he let go of her wrist, and ran a hand up her bare arm, to play with the broken strap of her vest.

"You are quite good with those though, I'll admit," he said, smiling at her, pride evident in his eyes. "You're a natural with them."

She smiled happily, shivering slightly as goose bumps followed the trial his fingers traced in her arm.

"Thanks," she whispered, lightly brushing her lips to his.

He smiled, and returned the kiss, lightly at first, but slowly deepening it.

"Harry?"

Harry sighed softly, turning his head towards the voice.

"Yes Cedric?" He asked, looking at the tall boy-no, man, before him. The elven healers had said all four of those returned would be weak, magically and physically, and so Cedric remained at Hogwarts, under the watchful eye of old Melnan, the healer.

"Umm...I was wondering," Cedric said, looking nervous, and awkward at having interrupted.

"Hmm?" Harry gestured for him to continue, while Ginny smiled softly, and picked up her sword, returning it to the sheath at her side.

"Could you-could you train me? Like that...how to fight?" Cedric blurted out.

Harry smiled. "Of course. If your willing of course."

Cedric nodded happily. "Definitely. I don't want to let the _bastard_," he spat out the word. "Get me again."

"No problem Ced, we'll start your training tomorrow morning, an hour before dawn. You'll train with Gin." Harry said, looking at Ginny briefly, who nodded, not objecting.

"Thanks Harry!" Cedric said excitedly. "One thing though..."

"Hmm?" Harry asked.

"Can we skip that last part? I mean, not that I don't like you, but not like that, and Cho would probably not appreciate it." Cedric said, laughingly.

Harry mock glared. "You'll pay for that one you will."

Ginny laughed, watching as Cedric swallowed nervously.

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A month had passed since their eventful return to Hogwarts. It had been...interesting. The had returned right in the middle of the Great Hall. Harry smirked as he remembered.

_They arrived in the centre of the Hall. The tables had been cleared from the centre of the room by the elves, who had been alerted to their return. Professors Snape and McGonagall immediately began moving towards them._

"_Albus, about time you got back, I-" Snape stopped, eyes widening briefly in horror as he caught sight of who stood behind Dumbledore. He then promptly fainted. _

_McGonagall stopped as well, looking from James, to Lily, to Sirius, to Cedric, then back again. _

"_What-how?" She stuttered._

"_Its rather complicated Minerva," Dumbledore said, projecting his voice so all the nearby teachers, standing in shock, could hear him clearly. "But suffice it to say, thanks to Elven Magic, the Potters, Mr. Black, and Mister Diggory have safely returned to us."_

"_Minny!" James exclaimed, striding forward and giving her a hug, grinning wickedly. "How absolutely wonderful to see you again! Its been ages!"_

_McGonagall's eyes were wet with tears of happiness, but she still managed to look stern. _

"_Hmm...yes...I DO hope your stay in the castle will be a bit less interesting then it was last time, Mr. Potter?" _

_James' grin widened. "Professor, you wound me. Less interesting?" He said, looking back at Sirius and laughing. "Don't be silly! I may not be exactly what you though before, but I'm still a Marauder!"_

"_Hmmph, that's what I was afraid of." McGonagall said._

_As all the others gathered, talking quickly, Harry's eyes went to one of the elves standing silently near the door. Their eyes met, and Harry nodded once, and the elf turned, and strode out of the room._ _A moment later, Harry excused himself from the others, and followed._

"_Well?" He asked, once they were outside, away from any watching eyes, or listening ears._

"_The Captain wants to talk to you, as soon as possible." Elain, one of the elves Harry had trained with, said. _

_Harry nodded. "I'll slip away this evening. Anything else?"_

_Elain shook his head. "No sir, the castle is secure."_

_Harry smiled his thanks, and returned to the Great Hall. Looking around quickly, he saw that Arthur had already flooed out, heading to the Ministry immediately._

_The next morning, the Daily Prophet's headline would announce the return of the Potter's. It would have been too hard to conceal, and with the Minister's word to back it up, it would be quickly accepted._

"_Albus, the Diggory's arrived about half an hour ago, they're waiting in your office." McGonagall said._

"_Excellent. Cedric, if you'll come with me then?" Dumbledore said, and led Cedric out of the Hall._

"_So, what happened to Snape?" James asked, grinning, as he looked down at the Potions Master, who's eyes fluttered open at just that moment._

"_Merlin save us," Snape muttered._

_James' grin only widened._

_-Pagebreak-_

_Harry moved silently through the trees, passing by the hidden sentries and entering the outer edge of the war party's camp. The trees themselves seemed to conceal the camp's location, because until he entered the glade itself, there was no sign it was even there. The flickering light of the campfires didn't seem to pierce the outer boundaries of the camp._

_As he entered, several elves saluted quickly, before silently moving into the forest behind him, trading off with the sentries already posted. _

_A flutter of wings to his left drew his attention, and he smiled faintly. The rest of the Windrunner's had arrived._

_The Pegasi ruffled their feathered wings, as their riders, some of the best archers among the elves, tended their mounts. Carried into battle upon their winged steeds, the Windrunner's could reach the castle grounds considerably quicker then the rest of the war party. They would be raining feathered death upon the enemy within ten minutes of a Call being sounded._

"_My Prince," one of the captain's aides called, jogging over to him. "Captain Seerin it waiting in the Command Tent."_

_Nodding his thanks, Harry followed the aide to the tent, and pushed aside the flaps as he ducked in._

"_Report Captain," he said. There would be time for small talk later, Seerin wouldn't have wanted to speak with him if it weren't urgent._

"_A force of 20 vampires tried to pass through the forest Christmas Eve. They were making for the castle. They were armed, and moving in an obviously hostile manner," the captain said curtly._

"_You took them out I'm assuming?" Harry asked, concerned. "Was anyone injured?"_

"_Not seriously, no. We were warned earlier enough, and ambushed them before they neared the castle. Few injuries, a few cuts and scrapes is all," Seerin answered. "That's not the problem."_

_Harry's eyebrow raised in question, and Seerin answered by dropping a handful of dark black leather patches_

"_Valendi." Harry said, pursing his lips in annoyance, as he picked up one of the black patches, and ran his thumb over the blood red insignia on the front._

_The Valendi were the largest, and most dangerous of the Vampire Clans. The ones involved in earlier attacks had been rogues. Weak, Clanless vampires. The addition of the Valendi to the Dark Lord's forces would greatly increase his available attack power._

"_Alright. Keep everyone training, and ready to come if Called. Remember, do not leave this position unless ordered. The Dark Lord will come. With the extra forces available from the Valendi, he'll be growing more and more confident. The attack will come, and when it does, I want to crush his forces between you, and the walls."_

_-Pagebreak-_

"Alright," Harry said, pacing back and forth in the Lair. "We need something big. Something unexpected.

"Something to make them regret EVER doing this to my hair," Ginny grumbled, looking at her bright green curls with distaste. She'd been so happy when her hair had become long, straight and silky.

"Ya, I don't like blue hair!" Ron yelled.

"I don't like this blonde any more then you do Swift," Harry replied.

"So we need to do something to retaliate," Hermione said quietly, thinking hard. Then a slow grin lit her face, and her eyes danced with mischief. "I've got it!"

"What?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Bolt," Hermione said, turning to the only other to have been raised by muggles. "Did you ever read Willy Wonka?"

"Yes, but what does that-" He paused, before a wicked look came over him. "You Feathers, are a genius."

Hermione smiled.

"I know."

Ron looked confused.

"What's a Wonka?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: The Fall of Azkaban**

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table, just before dinner was due to start, frowning in annoyance at the giggles that still came from other students at him and the others.

Two days, and they still hadn't been able to remove the charm that had changed their hair colour.

"It's just not fair," he said, as he looked at Ron. "It wasn't even that great a prank. Its too...simple!"

"Simple, but effective I guess," Ron said, shrugging. He had since given up worrying about it, and was simply content to wait until the charm wore off. "It worked, and I hear Fred and George are already making a sweet to mirror the effect."

"Oh joy," Harry said, distinctly lacking enthusiasm. "I am so glad our suffering is making them profit."

Ron shrugged, grinning slightly.

"Oh stop moaning so much Harry."

Harry turned, and smiled at Ginny as she sat down beside him.

"Besides," she continued. "I think you look good with blond hair."

"What?" Harry asked in shock.

Ginny shrugged. "Its true. It gives you a very...lordly look. Very noble looking."

"Great." Harry muttered.

A few minutes later, he looked up as Hermione hurried into the Hall, and quickly sat down, smirking.

"Well?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's done," Hermione said, somewhat out of breath, like she had just run all the way from the kitchens...which she had. "Dobby was more then willing to help in any way."

"Excellent," Harry said, grinning evilly as he looked up at the head table, where his parents, and Sirius were sitting with Remus. They were now 'Co-Teachers' of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The three Marauders were hunched over, whispering quietly to each other. Harry saw his mother look at him, and raise an eyebrow at the look on his face.

Shrugging lightly, Harry tried to look innocent, but could tell she didn't buy it. Lily smiled faintly, and made a point of turning to Professor McGonagall beside her, and starting a conversation with her.

"Just wait til desert," Hermione said, grinning wickedly, eyeing the head table in anticipation.

Dinner passed quickly, and soon deserts had appeared on the tables.

The original Marauders didn't suspect a thing, as they dug heartily into their deserts. Halfway through his slice of blueberry pie, Remus happened to glace over at the Gryffindor table, and paled rapidly as he saw the second generation of Marauders all watching him.

He swallowed nervously, and had he seen his own face, he would have realized that his pale skin was rapidly colouring.

Of course, it wasn't exactly a natural colour, as his skin rapidly turned a dark blue. Suddenly he felt himself stretching, lifting out of his chair as he ballooned outward. It seemed Harry was good at blowing people up...

"Moony?" Sirius said, looking over at his friend. He was about to reach over to help him, when both he and James suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke faded, it revealed two short, ugly, bald men in overalls

Who promptly began singing.

"Oompa Loompa, doompa dee do..."

The great hall promptly dissolved into laughter, both by muggleborns, who knew what it was, and wizardborn students, who just thought it was funny.

Harry and his friends were laughing too, satisfied that they were avenged. They quickly fled the great hall, just in case any sort of retribution would be coming their way once the transformations wore off.

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"Did you see how pale Moony went?" Ron laughed, as they relaxed in the Lair half an hour later.

"And then how blue," Ginny giggled.

"I do hope Colin got some pictures," Hermione said pensively. "Could make for good blackmail material in the future."

Harry was about to reply, when suddenly his vision went to black.

_He saw an auror, patrolling silently on a stone wall, suddenly be blasted into from the wall, to fall with a loud crunch to the solid ground below, and lay unmoving._

_He saw a swarm of dark figures disembarking boats on a rocky beach, and rushing forward._

_He saw a wooden gate explode inward, crushing the two aurors who stood behind it._

_He saw dark figures high in the air, swooping down upon unsuspecting wizards below them._

Harry jerked back to himself, eyes wide.

"Azkaban" He swore, quickly rising from his seat.

"What?" Ginny asked, confused. "Harry, what's going on?"

"Voldemort's attacking Azkaban. Right now." Harry said, as he rushed out the door.

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"_Everyone, prepare for battle, immediately. Azkaban is under attack." _Harry mindcalled the other elves, as he ran to his room, quickly throwing on his leather armour, and beginning to gather his weapons.

"Apollo!" He called out, and the phoenix almost immediately appeared in the air before him. "Go alert the camp. Let them know to be prepared in case we need them"

"_Aye Emrys." _Apollo trilled, and flew out the window, winging swiftly towards the forest.

"Although Light help us," he whispered to himself, as he sheathed his swords on his back, and made for the door. "I hope they aren't."

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They arrived at the dock of the island upon which Azkaban stood, the sheer number of wards and protective barriers still erected around the prison keeping them from arriving closer.

Even from there, a hundred yards from the walls of the prison fortress, they could tell that they already too late.

The gate was gone, along with a large portion of the wall near it. Bodies, clad in now bloody Auror robes, littered the ground around the gate and the broken wall. Clusters of them, those who had lived long enough to rally, to try to fight back, lay in groups, surrounded by a pitifully small number of fallen enemies.

More of said enemies still stood within the courtyard, a mass of dark clad forms, waiting while a trio of trolls hammered on the inner gate to the interior of the prison. Above them hovered the wraith-like forms of the dementors, dozens of them, circling menacingly in the sky.

"Bows!" Harry commanded, and lifted his, and fifteen others were raised with his. "Target the trolls. Stop them from breaking down that door."

"Loose!"

Sixteen arrows flew into the air.

Sixteen arrows came down on the unprotected backs of the trolls, killing all three.

Harry swore as he saw only half of the massed enemies turned their attention away from the doors, and move to engage the elves. The other half began to work at the door with curses and spells. From the speed with which the ones moving to engage them were moving, it was clear they were all vampires.

"Here they come. May the Light be with you all," Harry said, as he watched the enemy force.

"Justice has come." Harry whispered, as he drew aim once more, this time on a snarling vampire in the front of the pack, and loosed his arrow.

Each elf got off two more shots before they collectively discarded their bows, drawing weapons, and preparing to meet the charge.

Harry drew the twin swords from his back, rolling under a lunging vampire, twisting as he did, and slashing with one sword at it, while stabbing outward at another.

These were not brutish, untrained vampires though. They wielded weapons of their own, and knew how to use them.

He spun quickly, and dodged a massive two handed sword that could have easily cleaved him in two. Harry soon found himself been pushed back by the sheer strength of the massive vampire wielding the huge sword as though it were weightless. Finally, he found an opening, and he blocked the massive sword with his left blade, deflecting it upward, as he spun in, and stabbed the vampire through the chest with the other.

As he stepped back, pulling the sword from the vampires chest, he was suddenly slammed forward by a weight landing on his back, throwing him to the ground. The sudden impact caught him by surprise, and he was pinned under the weight of the vampire that had tackled him.

He heard cold laughter behind him, and heard the soft rush of air that signalled a weapon rapidly descending towards him...

And suddenly the weight on his back was gone, as suddenly as it had appeared.

Quickly rolling over, Harry saw the familiar face of Evan, one of his training partners, and the first elf he had befriended in Falandais, standing over him, his personal weapon, a deadly one handed mace that he swung with vicious force, in his hand, still dripping with vampire blood from the beast he had literally just batted from Harry's back.

"Be more careful Emrys, I won't always be there to save you!" Evan said, grinning slightly, before spinning quickly, raising his mace to strike a charging vampire in the head, crushing its skull with one blow.

"Haha," Harry said, as he leapt to his feet.

Looking around quickly, he took stoke of the situation. The elves were holding their own, even against the numerically superior vampires. Nearby, he could see Allia moving with such grace it seemed she was dancing, as she swung her sword keeping a trio of vampires at bay.

Sudden movement caught his eye, and he looked up, spotting the swooping forms of the dementors as they descended from the sky.

"DEMENTORS!" He yelled, dropping one of his swords and focusing his magic, as a golden light burst from his hand, forming into the familiar shape of Prongs. His golden patroni burst into the air, charging at nearby Dementors.

Suddenly as series of pops echoed through the air, louder even then the sounds of clashing weapons. A short moment later, a swarm of silver patroni burst into the night air, as the Order of the Phoenix arrived, casting their patroni into the sky.

He was quickly separated from Evan, as he was found himself pressed from all sides. He only had one of his twin swords left, and was too heavily pressed to have time to sheath it and draw his katana.

For what seemed like an hour, but was most likely only 5 minutes, he fought furiously. He heard the sounds of spells being shouted, and quickly surmised that the Order of the Phoenix, not wanting to risk hitting an elf with their spells in the chaos of the melee, had gone around, and were engaging the Death Eaters at the gate.

The fighting continued, but it soon became obvious to Harry that they were overmatched. There were just too many of the enemy, and too few of them. The fight had carried them closer to the wall, so he could clearly see the Order of the Phoenix also slowly being driven back.

Cursing to himself, he knew they had lost. And he didn't want to have to call in the War Party for reinforcements. The Dark Lord hadn't shown himself, and Harry did not want to waste the element of surprise now.

"Fall back!" He called out. As much as he hated to admit it, they could not win. "Fall back to the dock."

The elves immediately began to fall back, fighting their way clear of the vampires, and slowly advancing backwards. Dumbledore quickly echoed the order, and the Order of the Phoenix also began to fall back.

And it seemed, for unknown reasons, the vampires were content to let them. As soon as the elves broke off the offensive, and began to fall back, most of the vampires broke off, falling back to the wall, and waiting.

Harry continued to engage the over-eager vampires who kept up the attack, slowly falling backwards. Most of the elves had made it back to the dock, and were holding there, engaging any vampire foolish enough to get too close. The elves all sported various minor injuries, but nothing serious, thankfully.

A sudden cry of pain echoed to Harry's right, causing cold fear to run through him instantly, as he turned in alarm, to see Evan, 30 feet away, fall to his knees, blood running like a river down his leg.

Harry tried to run to aid him, but suddenly, almost out of nowhere, 4 vampires appeared in his way, blocking his path.

"Evan!" He yelled, as a shadow swept over him, and he watched a Dementor fly down, to hover above Evan.

Evan's mace swung up, batting the Dementor away, but the movement strained his leg even more, and he cried out again in pain.

Swinging his sword viciously, Harry cut the head from one of the vampires in his way, but three more still stood, preventing him from getting near his friend.

Again, the shadow swept downward, but this time Evan was too weak, from blood loss and pain, to keep it away.

"Evvvvann," Harry screamed, as he lashed out again, taking down another vampire, but still unable to get close to his friend.

Harry could only watch in horror and anguish as the Dementor hovered over Evan, who's mouth opened in a silent scream as a white glowing light slowly emerged from his eyes.

The glow slowly left Evan, shimmering brightly in the air above him. It slowly moved towards the Dementor, and as it did, it seemed to darken, as though tainted by the evil of the creature it was approaching. By the time it was sucked into the Dementor's foul mouth, the once bright, shining white light had turned to deep, endless black.

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Little is known of Dementors. It is said they were created in a time long forgotten, for a task none now know of. Creatures of the darkest kind, they devour the souls of their victims, gaining power with each soul they claim.

But they were limited, thankfully. None remaining knew how to create more. The dementors that existed were the same ones that had existed since they were first created. But they were not sentient, little more then trained animals, taught a few tricks, and told what to do. None remembered how they had been found, but they had been quickly captured, and forced to serve in the foulest of prisons. To be slaves to any who controlled them, to any who would offer them souls to eat.

But that was not their original purpose. They had been created for a far darker purpose, by a far darker being than any that remained on this earth.

They had existed for so long, that they had slowly weakened. Their powers reduced. When they had first come into existence, they had been powerful, loyal and strong servants of their masters. But ages of poor sustenance and imprisonment had taken its toll.

And so, when the Dementor devoured the soul of the Elf, it for the first time in so long, felt the feeling of true power provided by _real _food.

It reveled in it, as its mind awakened, and it felt dark power inside it again. It remembered the past, everything that had happened. And it remembered its task, the most important mission of all.

Seething with internal powers, it took stock of its situation. A bunch of weaklings surrounded it. Slaves. And there...the Enemy. A pack of them. It sniffed the air, and hissed in laughter.

"Weaklingssss..." It hissed, speaking for the first time in countless ages.

It turned again, and froze.

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Harry watched in horror as the Dementor seemed to glow in dark energy. Suddenly, all his horror, grief, and anguish burned away, fire erupting within him, as anger and righteous rage consumed him. He practically ripped his Katana from its sheath, the fires of his rage burning within him. The two vampires before him didn't even have a chance to react, as the blade, burning red hot, Harry's magic reacting to his anger, and giving power to his blade, cut through them both, consuming them both in bright flames.

He felt magic flowing around him, felt it blowing through his hair, as he stalked towards the Dementor.

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It was shocked. It could not be! It was not possible! Sudden fear swept through it, and it lost all former feelings of power. It seemed to quake, terrified.

"No," the Dementor hissed quietly, in disbelief. "It'sss not possible. You cannot still live!"

It knew it was impossible. That it was mere coincidence. But the fear still held it.

Harry was close now, and he lifted his sword, his anger so great that his sword burst into flame, burning brightly as it swung downward.

The Dementor watched the sword break into flames, and knew its short period of power and strength was over.

As the burning sword cleaved through its head, burning away its life, there was only one thing going through its evil mind.

'_It's not possible...'_

_-Pagebreak-_

Harry dropped to the ground beside the unmoving form of Evan. Ignoring everything else, he looked at the pale face of his friend.

He was gone...he had failed his friend.

Tears stung Harry's eyes, as he gently picked up Evan's lifeless body. He looked briefly over at the other elves and the members of the Order of the Phoenix, then vanished without a sound, taking the body of his fallen friend with him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Calm Before the Storm**

"Where are they?" Ginny asked worriedly. "Why didn't they return with you?"

The Order of the Phoenix had apparated out shortly after the elves had disappeared. They'd returned to Hogwarts, expecting to find the elves already there.

They were not.

"What happened?" James asked, as he entered the Great Hall, where the Order and a few others were gathered, Lily and Sirius close behind. They had wanted to go with the Order to Azkaban, but were still physically and magically weak, and Dumbledore had refused to allow them to come.

"They were outnumbered," Dumbledore said sadly. "Harry ordered a retreat. One of them...one of Harry's friends...didn't make it."

James' eyes closed briefly, and he breathed in a slow breath.

"Then they will not return before nightfall," He said certainly. "You must understand...it has been a very long time since one of our people were slain in battle. His death...will be sorely felt."

"But where did they go?" Ron asked.

"They went to mourn his death, and honour his life."

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Harry knelt on the soft soil, eyes filled with grief as he looked on the dead form of his friend, still and lifeless. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and knew it was Allia, and he sensed the others behind her.

"I failed him," he whispered, the words seeming unnaturally loud in the still, silent forest.

"You failed no one Emrys," Allia replied quietly, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "He was a warrior. He knew the risks, as do we all."

Harry knew it was true, but still couldn't accept it.

"Do not mourn for his death," Allia continued. "Simply celebrate his life, and live on in his name."

Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, before nodding slowly, and rising to his feet.

"Let us prepare his funeral pyre," He said quietly.

The other elves nodded, and slowly dispersed. They were deep within the Forbidden Forest, and so spread out, collecting dead branches and wood from the ground. It took them a while to collect enough wood for a suitable pyre, but it was soon enough, and they laid Evan's still form atop the collection of branches, and put a thin layer of smaller branches over top of him.

One by one, each of the elves bid their own farewell to their fallen comrade, before finally, Harry lit the pyre, and the fire sprang to life.

The elves stood silently, watching the fires burning brightly. And as the sun began to set, and the forest grew dark, it was not long before the only remaining light was that of the stars and moon, and the softly glowing embers of the fire. It was then that Harry spoke once more.

"He is gone, but he shall not be forgotten. Let us always remember his life, and fight on in his honour. Let his death remind us why we fight. To protect the world from darkness," Harry said, speaking softly. "Farewell Evan, my friend. You shall never be forgotten."

The other elves echoed his words quietly. Then, one by one, they all slowly turned and walked away, until only Harry remained.

Harry was just about to turn and follow, when he heard a soft rustling in the trees, signaling something approaching. His hand briefly moved towards the hilt of his sword, before he relaxed.

"_Greetings Elf Lord," _He heard, as he saw a unicorn approach him.

"Hello again Moonstar." Harry said, greeting the leader of the local herd. "Are you well?"

The unicorn shook his head, his silvery mein shimmering in the moonlight. "_For now, aye. But there is something you must know. We have been aware of a disturbing increase in the number of dark creatures within the forest. Day by day, their numbers grow. Already, they encroach on our territories, and their numbers are greater then ours already. We will not be able to contain them much longer."_

Harry sighed. "Very well then. I recommend you relocate your herd to near our camp in the forest. It will be safer there, for your kind and others."

Moonstar tossed his head again. "_Indeed. We have already begun to move. I felt you should be informed though. Lightfoot and Firefur also are leading their kin to the camp. We shall await your call there."_

Harry nodded. "Thank you. It is good to know we have allies such as you."

"_Indeed. But yes, there is a dark feeling in the air. The attack on your castle shall come, and it shall come soon."_

Harry's eyes flared slightly, as anger surged within him. "Then we shall be ready."

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The night, the breeze blew strong, spreading the ashes from the pyre across the grove in which they had held the funeral pyre. The ashes settled onto the frozen earth, where come spring they would be absorbed into the ground.

And if come spring, the trees of that grove seemed a touch greener then the rest, seemed to reach stretch a little higher into the sky then their neighbours, and the ground became covered in a blanket of flowers and life, then it was surely just a coincidence...

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"Harry?" Ginny asked, settling into the couch next to him. "Are you okay?"

Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor common room. He'd returned to the school, and gone straight there, ignoring Dumbledore and his parents attempts to get him to talk.

"I'm fine Gin, I just...feel guilty." Harry replied.

"Harry, it's a war. People die. You've nothing to feel guilty about," Ginny said, snuggling close to him.

"I know Gin...I know." He said softly, hugging her close, and staring into the fire.

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"You have done well, my Death Eaters, my allies." Voldemort cried, to the assembled dark forces that now stood within the entrance hall of Azkaban. "Now go, celebrate this victory how you wish."

The Death Eaters and vampires cheered loudly, and began to move out of the chamber.

"Lucius, wait," the Dark Lord ordered, and the elder Malfoy obediently attended his master.

"As you know, taking Hogwarts is the our next goal." Voldemort said.

"My Lord, Hogwarts is well defended...it will be a tough battle." Lucius stated.

"Are you implying that I am not strong enough to break it Lucius?" The Dark Lord hissed.

"N-no my lord, I was just stating, it is heavily defended." Malfoy stammered.

"I know it is Lucius...but that is why I have a plan. Your son has proven quite...useful in the past. Now there is another chance for your family to prove their worth to me. I have a special task for your son I need you to relay to him..."

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"Voldemort's fortifying Azkaban. He's turning it into his Dark Fortress." Snape said.

Two weeks had passed since the fall of Azkaban. The Order of the Phoenix was having a meeting, with Allia and Harry attending representing the elves.

"How long before he turns his attention once more to attacking?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't know. He's gathering his forces though. He just seems to be waiting for something before he attacks."

"Very well, we can merely wait then."

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Cedric Diggory felt awkward. He had graduated, well, technically, even though he hadn't attended his official graduation. But he had taken his Newts, and passed.

And yet...he was still here. He didn't mind being at Hogwarts, but he still felt somewhat...awkward, being there and not being a student.

And so he had thrown himself into the training offered by Harry, and was getting progressively better.

He had taken to training alone in the evenings, running and improving his fitness, and practicing the unarmed combat style that Harry had deemed him most suited for. Every night, he would go out, and practice for several hours, before returning exhausted to the castle, and falling asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

He was returning that night from his exercises, moving through the dark corridors of Hogwarts, making his way back to his dorm. He was tired, both physically and mentally, and so wasn't even the slightest bit prepared, or able to resist, as a dark figure stepped from the shadows of the hallway beside him, wand raised.

"Imperio."

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Time passed slowly, but peacefully. It seemed to all those within the castle that Voldemort was content with Azkaban. The school continued as normal, and those within were slowly lured into a false sense of security.

Except the elves, who were steadily getting more and more reports of Dark creatures amassing within the forest. But there had been no other sign of movement from the Dark Lord, so though they were alert, they knew they had to wait.

Harry was standing in a deserted hallway, staring out the window at the lake below, now thawed in the early spring air.

"Harry, we need to talk.," came the voice of his father.

Harry turned, and looked at James.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

"Harry, you know as well as I that your numbers are not enough to defeat the Dark Lord's forces, should they attack here." James said, worry evident in his voice. "So unless you're not sharing certain information with the rest of us..."

Harry couldn't help the slight grin that tugged his lips upward.

James sighed softly, relief evident on his face as he saw his son's expression.

"I should've known. I assume-" James began, but was cut off.

"Indeed. The Windrunners and the Light Creatures within the forest can get here within fifteen minutes of getting the call. They'll be able to fly here and reinforce us quickly."

James nodded, relieved. He understood what his son meant. He knew now the true force that would defend the Castle. He had wondered why the humans believed that the force within the castle was a full War Party. Now he had his answer.

"Yup, you're definitely my son." James laughed. "Now let's go get something to eat."

Harry smiled briefly at this, and walked with his father down the hallway, heading for the Great Hall.

Moments after they left, the person who had been hiding further up the hallway, well within ear-shot, removed the Invisibility Cloak that had concealed him. Looking around quickly, he hurried off to report to his master.

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"So," Voldemort said, as he crumpled up the letter he had just finished reading. "The fool Potter boy has hidden airborne allies within the forest has he? Well then...we'll just have to prepare a little...welcoming present for them."

Voldemort's evil laughter echoed through the halls of Azkaban.

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April passed swiftly, and May came, with a warm sun, and blooming flowers.

May 14th dawned like any other, the sun bright in the sky. The students had gathered in the Great Hall for lunch, and Harry was laughing with his friends, when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his scar.

It was all the warning he got before he felt Anti-Apparition and Anti-Animagus wards slam down over the castle and grounds, and alarms began to ring out through the castle.

Voldemort had come.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: For Great Justice**

"Well, he certainly wasted no time in closing on the castle once the wards detected them," Harry quipped, as he looked out at the enemy forces emerging from the Forbidden Forest. He and Allia stood upon the wall of the Elven Wing while the rest of the elves were gathering their weapons and preparing for battle.

"Indeed," Allia agreed, her eyes already counting the numbers of the enemy and their formations. "I was expecting more warning."

"Ah well. I'll alert Captain Seerin. They'll already be alert no doubt, they can't have missed that large a force moving through the forest," Harry said.

That said, Harry pushed his mind outward, streaking out over the grounds and over the trees of the forest ... and found himself suddenly blocked.

Recoiling in surprise, Harry looked around confused for a moment, before shaking his head and trying again.

And once more finding himself blocked, as though an invisible wall blocked his mind's call part way into the Forest.

"What the ... " He muttered with confusion, causing Allia to look over in concern.

"Emrys?" She asked concerned. Now was not a good time to have something go wrong with their plan.

"Allia, try to mind call Seerin ... hell ... try to mind call anyone with the war party," Harry said, worry and anxiety evident in his words.

Allia looked confused for a moment, before nodding slightly. Her eyes briefly lost focus, before coming in once more.

"What's going on? Why can't we get through?" She asked, now looking increasingly worried.

Harry's thoughts rushed a mile a minute, leading him finally to a theory he had never even thought possible.

"Shit. Oh shit. This is not good," he blurted out as soon as he figured out what the problem was.

"What?" Allia asked quickly.

"It's the anti-apparition ward. Its gotta be," he explained. "It has to do with the way apparition works. The wizard's magic sends out a sort of mental signal, finding the destination, and pulling the body to it. The anti-apparition ward blocks the signal. It must affect mind calling too. Blocking the mind from connecting with anyone on the other side."

"But how come we were able to before? Didn't you say this castle had similar wards?" Allia asked.

"Yes but Hogwarts' recognizes us ... it lets us go through," Harry replied.

Both of them turned then, looking out over the wall at the assembling enemy.

"We won't be able to send a message by owl or phoenix, they'd be cursed out of the sky before they could reach the forest. We never planned for this," Allia stated, and her words were followed by a moment of silence.

"Plans change," Harry stated firmly, "but the goal remains the same. We _need_ the war party. We _have_ to get word to them." Harry paused, before continuing. "There's only one option really."

Allia nodded her agreement, already knowing what it was he was planning.

"Go to the others," He said. "Get them ready to ride."

Allia nodded, and strode purposefully away.

"Harry," a voice called from behind him. Turning, Harry saw his father approaching. "Something's wrong isn't it?"

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Ginny and the other Marauders, past and present, along with Dumbledore and several teachers, hurried along in the direction that Harry, and moments later, James, had gone. It had taken Dumbledore a few minutes to get the students calmed, but once he had, they'd hurried out of the Great Hall.

They arrived at the Elven Wing, and climbed the stairs to the top of the wall, to find Harry and James arguing loudly.

"Father, you know as well as I, we have to do this," Harry exclaimed.

"No, there must be a better way, what you're planning-" James countered, voice raised in disbelief.

"Is the _only_ way," Harry interrupted. "You know as well as I. We cannot defend this castle otherwise."

"But what you suggest..." James said. "Even if you do manage ... you won't be able to get back. You cannot win this fight."

"No," Harry agreed, as he looked over his father's shoulder, and saw Ginny and the others approaching. "But we can buy time for those who can."

He turned quickly, and began to stride away. He paused then, looking once more over his shoulder, meeting Ginny's questioning gaze briefly, before turning, and descending the stairs to the small courtyard below, and vanishing through the nearest door.

"James?" Dumbledore asked, when they reached him. "What's going on?"

"Where is Harry going?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"They're getting ready," James sighed, looking out over the wall despondently.

"To defend the school?" Ron asked.

"That," sighed James, "is the heart of the problem. This is a school. Defensively speaking however, this place is a nightmare."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what's going on?"

James laughed, a dry, hollow laugh, much different from his usual.

"Probably because you're not," he said dryly. "To put it bluntly, once you get past the wards, and believe me, they," he said, gesturing to the gathered dark forces outside the wall, "will get past them, this castle is badly designed for defense. Large windows, and nowhere to attack enemies before they're at the gate, other then this small section of the wall." He continued, pointing to the wall around the Elven wing.

Indeed, the elven section of the castle was designed much better for defense. It was in actuality several separate buildings, enclosed by a high wall that surrounded them and joined with the wall of the castle. A single gate stood in the middle of the wall, directly opposite the courtyard from the stables. Another building, the elven barracks, blocked the view of the courtyard from where they stood.

"This section of the castle is the only part that is defendable, and unfortunately, the enemy could just go around, and break through the main doors to the school easily enough, once the wards on it were negated. It would take them a while to get through the wards...but they will be able to." James said.

"But can't you just, y'know, wave your hand and make more walls appear, like how Harry did to get this part of the castle?" Ron asked.

James grimaced. "No. What Harry did, creating this section, used up almost all the castle's stored power. It would take years for it to recharge enough power to do so again."

"So what are Harry and the others going to do?" Ginny asked softly.

James looked at his son's love sadly.

"What they must."

His words were followed by a dreadful silence, which was suddenly shattered by a horn being blown, long and loud, echoing from the courtyard at the base of the wall.

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Harry looked around at the grim faces before him, all mounted, their armoured war unicorn's tossing their heads, ready and eager to at last participate in a battle. He praised Allia for having the fore-thought to move Rathi and the others, despite their objections to being forced inside, into the stables. They would need every advantage they could get.

"Olvyn," Harry said, addressing the lone mage. "Go to my father on the wall. Regardless of what happens...you must hold the wards up as long as you can."

Olvyn nodded, "I swear to you, My Prince, the wards will stand as long as I do."

Harry smiled at the mage, before turning back to the others, as Olvyn made his exit.

"You know what we must do. We cannot fail. Allia must get through," Harry said, looking over at her as he spoke.

Hers was the only mount that was unarmoured. Warwick would need every ounce of speed he could muster, he could not afford to be burdened down. She looked at him, eyes hard with determination, and nodded.

"Once she is through, we fall back to the castle, if we can. Otherwise...we hold on as long as we can, and keep the enemy focused on us, and not the school. We buy the war party as much time as we can." He finished.

The assembled elves, fifteen of them, not including Harry or Allia, nodded as one.

"Very well, then. Lets go," He said, and he pushed the stable doors open with a small magical shove, and led them out into the courtyard.

He couldn't see his father on the wall, or Ginny, who he knew was there too. He couldn't see any of them.

In some ways...it was a relief.

He did not want to see the look in her eyes when she realized there was a good chance he would not be riding back.

"Warriors of the Light," Harry said, turning one last time to address those behind him, steely determination in his voice. "Our enemies are before us. They stand in our way. Let us see to it that the others are warned, that even should we fall, justice shall still prevail."

With that, Harry raised his horn to his lips, and let loose a great blast, and with a burst of magic threw open the gates, leading the elves out onto the field of battle.

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Ginny looked in shock as she saw the gate fling open, and watched Harry lead the elves out, quickly forming into a single long line, and begin to move toward the enemy, rapidly gaining speed.

"Oh no..." she whispered, horrified.

"James!" Dumbledore said firmly, "you have to stop them. You have to call them back. They'll be slaughtered out there."

"I can't," James said wearily.

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Harry drew his sword as Rathi gathered speed, his stride quickly settling into the smooth, powerful gait of a charge.

He scanned the enemy arrayed before them. Directly in front of them were the Death Eaters, several hundred of them. To the right, the vampires of the Valendi clan stood in rank. On the left flank, massive shadows were cast on the ground by the bulky forms of several giants and a number of trolls. And beside them, a trio of Basilisks. Their eyes had been covered by cloth, to prevent them from killing their own allies, but they were still deadly creatures, well over 50 feet in length.

And above them all hovered Dementors.

And behind them...the forest.

Harry's eyes had already told him where the lines were thinnest. The vampire's were quite possibly some of the most dangerous foes, especially in such numbers. But all that mattered was the initial push. If they could break through, then nothing else mattered.

With a quick, almost unnoticeable hand gesture, he told the riders next to him, Allia on his right, and Elian, another of Harry's training partners, to his left, the plan, and they in turn relayed it to those beyond them.

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"What are they doing?" Hermione asked, her voice shrill with fear. "They'll be cut down by curses the moment their in range of the Death Eater's spells!"

"No," Ron said, his faith in his friend outweighing his fear. "Harry's smarter then that...he knows what he's doing."

Only Ginny, standing beside him, heard the two words that quietly followed.

"I hope."

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'Almost there.' Harry thought, watching the Death Eater's ahead of them show signs of shock briefly, before preparing to launch a volley of curses as soon as they were in range.

Harry knew the outer range of their spells though ... and so mentally counting down the distance between them, until they were just out of range...

"NOW!" He shouted, and Rathi immediately turned to the right, the other elves' mounts turning as well, as they reformed into a spearhead formation behind him, with Allia in the centre.

The vampires barely had a chance to react before Rathi slammed into the centre of their line, trampling two under his hooves before they could blink. Harry's sword slashed out, cutting to the left and right, as Rathi continued to plow through their ranks.

The power of the charge, and the surprise of the sudden change in direction had its desired effect, as the Elven formation broke through the vampire lines with brutal force, the powerful war unicorns trampling any foolish vampire to get in their way.

The head of the formation broke through the line and immediately divided, splitting to both sides to engage the vampires at the rear, preventing them from closing back in around them.

Allia, seeing her chance, burst from the centre of the formation, along the thin path that had been carved through the enemy line, and broke into a full gallop into the forest beyond.

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"She's through," Olvyn whispered in relief, as he stood atop the wall beside James. As soon as the gate had shut, he had layered extra wards over the walls and castle.

"Aye, but look," James replied. "The vampires are pushing back. Their outer edges are moving back behind their lines, to block off the forest. No one else will be getting out that way."

"Harry," Ginny whispered in horror, as she saw the left flank of the enemy force, the Giants, trolls and basilisks (she couldn't resist shuddering slightly looking at them), moving forward, circling around and cutting off the elves' retreat back to the castle.

"They'll be completely surrounded," Ron whispered, his voice trembling in fear. "The vampires will push them back out into the open, where the Death Eaters and giants will encircle them.

"We have to get out there and help them," Sirius exclaimed. "We can't just let them get cut-off!"

"No," James replied, looking over at him briefly, his eyes dead serious. "We have to stay here. Regardless of what happens out there, we have to hold the castle. Time is on our side now. We just have to outlast them."

"But-" Sirius began, disbelief evident on his face.

"I'm not happy about it either Sirius," James said. "Believe me, I'm not. But if we re-open the gates now, we weaken the wards further, and we can't afford that."

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Harry saw Allia break for the trees, and breathed an internal sigh of relief. In the forest, mounted, there would be no stopping her.

Word would reach the War Party. Of that he was now certain.

Harry quickly glanced around, briefly hoping that the path was still clear, that they could still fall back to the castle.

His heart sunk as he saw the path rapidly becoming full of enemies.

'So be it then.' He thought, as he slashed downward again with his sword, knocking aside a vampire's thrust, and then stabbed outward, his blade piercing its neck.

'If I'm going to go down, I'm taking as many of them with me as I can,' he thought to himself, as Rathi reared up on his hind legs, his forelegs lashing out, crushing the skull of another vampire.

At least his Ginny would be safe.

'Ride hard Allia,' he thought, sparing a brief glance at the forest. 'Ride hard and don't look back. For we may not be here when you do.'

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Warwick's hooves pounded along the forest floor as Allia leaned low over his back, urging every bit of speed that she could get out of him.

She didn't know how far back into the forest the wards reached. Hopefully not too far.

Warwick wove through the trees, hardly slowing at all as he moved deeper and deeper into the forest.

Minutes passed, and Allia knew that each second counted for Emrys and the others. Every second brought her closer to her goal, but brought the others closer to their doom.

Allia hissed in pain, flinching as a low hanging branch slashed across her cheek as they passed, drawing blood. She reached up to touch the wound, but then paused as she felt ... something just ahead.

With a relieved grin, she felt Warwick carry her through the edge of the ward.

"CAPTAIN," She practically shouted into the mind of the War Party leader. "Move now, double time," her mind voice practically screaming of haste and urgency. "The battle has already begun, Emrys needs reinforcements as soon as possible."

She felt a brief acknowledgment, before she reigned Warwick in. The unicorn's flanks heaved as he forced air into its lungs. She would let him gain his breath, waiting for the War Party, before continuing on with them. Riding straight back to the battle now would help no one if Warwick arrived without the strength to fight.

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"WE MOVE NOW," Captain Seerin bellowed, his voice carrying across the entire camp. "Infantry, mount double on the backs of the mounted."

The camp quickly burst into activity. The elves had been expecting the call already, so were mostly prepared. Elves rushed around, swinging atop their waiting unicorns, pulling others up behind them, and quickly falling into rank.

A pounding of hooves announced the arrival of the unicorns of Moonstar's herd. Though smaller then their cousins, they could still carry riders. And they did, riding up to the mage tents, and allowing the mages to quickly mount.

"Falen," The captain said, turning to the elf who had quickly joined him. "Go. Take the gryphons. Get there as quickly as you can, and reinforce the Prince until we arrive."

The elf nodded, before turning away, signaling to his own unit to mount up.

The Captain turned away then, quickly mounting his own unicorn, and riding to the head of the column.

"Your Prince has called for Justice," he yelled to the assembled force. "Let us see it done!"

The elves let out a cheer, and as one, they rode into the forest, flowing through the trees, riding to the aid of their prince.

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Lieutenant Falen checked the straps securing himself to his mount, then with quick motion of his arm, signaled his mount to take off.

The Pegasi's legs carried it forward, before its powerful wings began to beat, lifting it up into the air. Behind him, he could hear the wing-beats of the rest of his unit, as they quickly moved into formation.

Falen looked to the left, as a pack of Gryphons, led by their leader, Firefur, flew over to join them. He saw several white flickers in the sky ahead, and to the side of them, and knew that the pegasi of Lightfoot's flight were scouting their way. The forest slid by beneath them, as they quickly outdistanced the ground forces moving below.

With a signal, the formation flew up, above the clouds, using them as cover to approach the battle undetected.

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Harry slashed downward, slaying another vampire, but it was quickly replaced by several more. They had been driven back, surrounded and hemmed in. Now they fought, a circle of flashing blades and bloody hooves amidst a sea of darkness.

Unlike their previous battle, here the elves held a significant advantage. The war unicorns, trained for battle, gave them a much needed edge, and the elves took advantage, cutting down countless enemies.

At least two of them had been pulled from their mounts and swarmed under as the vampires showed no mercy; and one pair of rider and mount had been crushed by the brutal force of a troll's club coming down on them.

Harry ducked under a curse, parried a lunging sword blade, and thrust forward, feeling the blade sink into flesh, but not seeing it as he watched Rathi lower his head, and swing it to the left, impaling another vampire upon his horn.

But the move left his right side wide, and a vampire darted forward into the opening, its sword finding a gap between Rathi's armour.

Harry felt Rathi begin to collapse under him, and threw himself from the unicorn's back, bowling into the vampire who had struck, and knocking it to the ground. Harry slammed down on top of it, and rolled, swinging his blade up to block another vampire's attack, and struck back out, determined to keep the foul beings from butchering Rathi's fallen body, as vampires swarmed in all around him.

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"Harry!" Ginny screamed in fear as she saw Rathi go down, and Harry vanish amidst a swarm of vampires.

She sobbed in horror, and Ron quickly grabbed her, pulling her into a hug, comforting his baby sister as he stared down at the battlefield, grief in his eyes.

"I have to help him," Ginny cried, shoving Ron away, and running off into the castle..

Ron made to move after her, but James waved him off.

"She'll be okay. Don't worry, the gates are sealed. She can't get out there," he said.

"Ya," Ron whispered sarcastically, "but are you sure they can't get in here?"

Either no one heard him, or no one could answer him.

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Ginny rushed blindly through the halls of the school, tears of grief and pain in her eyes. She reached the main gate of the school, and pushed hard on them, but found herself unable to so much as budge them.

Breaking into tears, she slid slowly to the ground, sobbing.

"Ginny?" She heard someone ask.

She looked up, and saw it was Cedric Diggory.

"I have to get out there," she said, pushing down the pain and fear she felt. "I have to help Harry ... but I can't get out ... there's no way out."

Cedric nodded, and Ginny thought she saw a flicker of something across his face, before he looked at her again.

"There ... there is a way." He whispered.

"What?" Ginny asked. "How?"

"I-" he began, and she felt as though he were trying to resist telling her.

"You have to tell me!" She begged. "You have to."

"Do you trust me?" He asked her suddenly.

"Of course I do," she replied, not understanding how he could ask her that.

"Grab my hand," he said, reaching out to her with his hand, while the other was tucked into a pocket of his robes.

Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand.

Cedric looked down at their joined hands, before looking into her eyes once more.

"Do you trust me?" He asked again.

Ginny only nodded.

She saw pain and regret suddenly flood into his eyes.

"You shouldn't," Cedric whispered, and he activated the portkey concealed within his pocket.

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Lieutenant Falen could see the castle now, brief flashes of it between the clouds as they flew forward. He looked up then and saw one of the pegasi that had been flying ahead of them winging its way swiftly towards them.

"What_?" _He asked, as it reached them, and turned to fly beside him.

"_A group of the dark robed wizards, the enemy. On brooms, hiding in a cloud above the battlefield." _The pegasi, and Falen now recognized it as Lightfoot, replied.

"Did they see you?_" _ Falen asked.

"_Nay. They're watching the forest. I flew close enough to hear them talking. They know your coming. Somehow. But their expecting you to be flying in just above the tree tops. They're waiting to ambush you from above." _Lightfoot said, a smug tone to his voice.

"Well then, they'll be in for an unpleasant surprise," Falen said, grinning wickedly. "How goes the battle?"

"_The Prince is surrounded. They're in trouble,"_ Lightfoot said simply.

Falen nodded, and turned to look at Firefur, who was flying near him.

"We'll deal with the wizards," he shouted. "You go help the prince."

The great gryphon nodded, and swung downward and away, leading the half dozen other members of his wing toward the battle. They were few, but they were powerful.

"Now," Falen said, knocking an arrow to his bow. "Let us deal with these wizards."

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Firefur grinned, or what could be construed as a grin on a gryphon, flexing his claws as he winged toward the battle. The elves could deal with the soft humans. There was bigger prey to be hunted, and his kind were mighty hunters.

'There,' the gryphon thought. Giants. Trolls. Worthy foes.

He broke cover then, diving out of the clouds, his brothers and sisters behind him, winging swiftly and silently toward their targets.

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Harry fought hard, swinging widely, keeping the vampires back, at least for the moment. He slashed at one, cutting its throat, and spun, following through with the slash and reversing the blade, stabbing another through the chest.

He pulled back his sword and spun, expecting to see another vampire before him.

Instead, he looked up, and up, and up, at a giant, leering over him, its massive club already beginning its descent.

'There they are,' Falen thought, as he caught site of the Death Eaters hovering on their brooms. He nocked an arrow and drew back his bow, his actions mirrored by every elf in his wing.

"THERE THEY ARE!" One of the Death Eaters cried, pointing at the diving Gryphons, unknowingly echoing Falen's thought.

The Death Eaters turned their brooms, and began to dive, pointing their wands at the Gryphons...and over half of them were suddenly free-falling, the impact of the elven arrows to their chests throwing them from their brooms.

Nott saw several of the Death Eaters in front of them suddenly fall sideways off their brooms and turned in shock. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw a score of elves, mounted atop silver winged pegasi, diving out of a cloud toward them. He locked eyes with the one who was leading them, but didn't even have a chance to bring his wand around as he saw the elf draw back his bow once more, and loose.

The arrow pierced Nott's left eye, killing him instantly. His lifeless body slumped over on his broom, before slowly slipping to the side, and finally, falling.

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Harry threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the crushing blow of the giant's club. He circled round, trying to find an opening, but the giant wrenched his club from the ground with a loud bellow, and raised its club to swing again.

A ear-shattering screech, the war cry of a bird of prey about to strike, split the air as a reddish brown blur slammed into the giant from the side. The gryphon's claws dug into the giants hard skin, puncturing and drawing blood as the giant fell, the gryphon's weight and the power of its attack toppling the massive humanoid.

The giant's arms flailed wildly, unable to get up with the weight of a full grown gryphon on its chest. The gryphon stretched out a clawed paw, and slashed deep into the giant's neck, tearing out its throat.

Firefur shook his feathered head, stretching out his wings as he gave another war-cry. Bunching his legs under himself, he pushed his way into the air once more, seeking more prey.

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James watched the arrival of the Windriders and the gryphons with relief. Their arrival meant more reinforcements were on the way.

"30 minutes, roughly," Olvyn supplied quietly, answering James' unasked question. "Less, if the Light aids their passage."

James nodded, and watched as the mounted archers flew down, firing arrows into the swarms of enemies that were pushing in all around Harry and the others. Arrows rained down upon the enemies below, killing them by the dozens. The archers only occasionally had to pause in order to dodge curses shot by the death eaters below.

The gryphons meanwhile were proving themselves mighty indeed. They worked in pairs, with the exception of Firefur, with one distracting a giant or troll while the other dove, raking it with beak and claws, before flying up out of reach.

The tactic worked well, James realized, as he watched a pair of them taking turns, diving in and attacking from either side of a now very confused Basilisk. Finally, the great serpent weakened, and the gryphons dove in for the kill.

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Voldemort had watched in anger as the bloody overgrown birds systematically tore through his most powerful of minions. He'd held the majority of the Death Eaters along with the Dementors back from the fight so far, but now was considering sending them in.

He was about to order them forward when suddenly something appeared beside him that made him smile evilly.

Now he would break them. Here was the tool to break Potter's will. And when Potter died, nothing would stand in his way.

"Hello my dear," Voldemort laughed mockingly, "how nice of you to join us."

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"What's going on?" Hermione asked, as they watched the enemy's surrounding Harry and the other elves suddenly pull back, still completely enclosing the remaining elves, but putting about 30 feet between them. It was only then, in the sudden calm following the furious melee, that they could see how many of the elves still stood. Less then half of those who had ridden out of the gate remained. The rest had fallen, and now lay lifeless among the bodies of their foes.

The remaining elves on the ground regrouped, and they could see Harry shouting orders to those in the air, who quickly flew in close, to hover over them. The gryphons to landed, and moved to stand with the elves on the ground, their claws dripping and fur and feathers stained with blood.

Those on the wall watched for several minutes as nothing happened, before the enemy lines slowly parted, revealing a tall skinny figure with a pale face and blood red eyes.

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"Hello Harry," Voldemort said dryly, as he emerged from his lines.

"Tom," Harry replied, inclining his head slightly.

"Don't call me that," snapped the dark lord, eyes flaring angrily.

Harry smirked, "Why not? It is your name after all."

Voldemort smiled faintly, "Don't think I will let you provoke me boy. I'm not a fool."

"So what do I owe the pleasure of this conversation?" Harry asked. He knew he shouldn't be joking around, but every second he stalled brought the war party closer.

"I've come here to offer you a chance to surrender yourself Harry," Voldemort said simply.

Harry laughed. "You're joking right?"

The dark lord merely smirked.

"I assure you, I don't jest."

"What makes you possibly think I'd be willing to surrender?" Harry asked incredulously.

Voldemort smiled, a decidedly sinister look in his eyes.

"This," he said, gesturing behind him.

From the line behind him, a pair of vampires shoved their way forward, carrying between them a struggling figure. A figure with red hair.

"Ginny," Harry whispered, horrified.

"Mmm, yes. I believe she is special to you, isn't she?" Voldemort asked.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Ginny said, tears running down her face as she looked at him.

"You bastard, let her go." Harry cried anguished.

"Oh, I will ... on one condition." Voldemort responded.

"What?" Harry demanded. "What do you want?"

"Your death," Voldemort answered. "Quite simple really. You approach, unarmed of course, and allow us to restrain you. Then, I'll have a Dementor give you a little kiss."

Harry stood stunned. "You must be joking," he blurted out.

Voldemort sighed dramatically. "Haven't we already established I'm not joking Harry? In return for this, I'll allow the girl to return to the castle."

"And if not?" Harry demanded.

Voldemort smiled. "Then I'll let these vampires drain her dry right before your eyes."

Harry's eyes flickered back over to Ginny, as one of the vampires ran a pale finger along her neck.

"Oh, and we would Elf," the vampire grinned, baring its fangs. "Her blood would be oh so sweet."

"Harry, no!" Ginny cried, struggling against the vampires firm grip. "I'm not worth it."

Harry stared at Ginny, anguish and grief flooding his eyes. Nothing else mattered to him. He forgot all about the enemies still surrounding him. Forgot all about the school, and the elves with him. Forgot all about stalling for time. None of it mattered anymore.

All that mattered was that Ginny's life was in danger.

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James closed his eyes, ignoring the screams coming from those around him, yelling at Harry not to do it.

He knew what his son would choose. It was the same decision he would make, if Lily were held in such a position. There was no question, no thought, no choice. Speaking of his wife, he heard her sob loudly behind him, and pulled her to his chest, comforting her.

James felt a tear run down his cheek as he opened his eyes, to watch his son slowly drop his sword to the ground.

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Harry watched Ginny's eyes widen in horror as his sword fell to the bloodstained grass.

"NOOO!" She screamed, and struggled all the harder, managing to free an arm. She quickly flicked her wrist, the dagger that had been hidden at there falling into her hand. The vampires hadn't thought to search the girl. Now one of them paid for that mistake, as Ginny swung, raising her arm and shoving the dagger into the vampire's throat.

Ginny grinned savagely, but her elation was short lived as the other vampire backhanded her viciously across the face.

Harry's muscles tensed, as he instinctively prepared to leap to her aid, but was stopped as the vampire grabbed Ginny by the hair once more, and pulled her head back, leaving her throat exposed. The vampire smiled cruelly at Harry, licking its pale lips.

Voldemort merely smiled, watching the events with a sadistic grin on his face.

"So Potter...do you surrender?" He asked.

Harry was midway between the two lines now, and he stopped there. He couldn't live without her. He knew that. If he was drowning in the middle of a vast sea, he would miss her more than air itself. Nothing mattered except her safety.

Ginny watched in despair as Harry dropped to his knees, head bowed in surrender, and a pair of vampires moved forward, grabbing each of his arms, holding him down.

"No," she whispered.

Voldemort's laughter echoed across the field, as a Dementor flew down to hover above the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Watch now," the Dark Lord's voice shouted to the elves on the field, and the occupants of Hogwarts, who could only stare in disbelief and horror. "Watch as your hero **_DIES_**."

Harry looked up at Ginny, his brilliant emerald eyes staring her in the eyes, and projected all his love, all his feelings for her. Her tears flowed freely now, as the barrage of images and thoughts overwhelmed her with the sheer power of his emotion.

Even as he felt the Dementor hovering closer, felt its dark power begin to tug at him, his eyes never left Ginny's.

It was only as his soul was sucked from his body and he sagged lifeless in the grip of the vampires that his eyes dimmed and dropped away.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Oroste d'Andaron**

They watched in silence as the events unfolded before them.

"Well?" he asked, his voice calm and serene, as though untroubled by what he beheld.

"Should he fall, there shall be none to fulfill his task. Without him to awaken them, there shall be nothing to stand in the way of the coming Darkness," she replied, a faint frown gracing her lips.

"Then he shall not fall," he replied simply.

She smiled faintly at his statement, the tone of his voice offering no doubt to his belief of the truth of his words.

"It is not so simple as that Adaron," she countered, gripping her staff tightly.

"Oh?" He asked, a slight feeling of humour present in his voice.

"Our powers are still limited. If we expend them now, we will not have enough to bring them back." She said vaguely.

"True," he agreed. "But all that is purposeless without him, as you so said. As he said so well 'Plans change, but the goal remains the same.' We'll figure something out."

She nodded slightly, the leaves woven amid her hair rustling slightly at the movement.

He smiled then, and the aura around him began to swirl and glow in anticipation.

"It will not drain all of our powers, I believe," he said, almost as much to himself as to her. "He certainly qualifies."

She looked at him quizzically, an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

He looked at her, and stars seemed to dance in his eyes,

"It has been some time since I have given the gift of my blessing to one of our children."

She smiled then, the grip on her staff lessening somewhat.

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Time stood still, and Ginny was frozen, mouth open in a silent scream.

Time stood still, and Voldemort was frozen, mouth open in silent laughter.

Time stood still, and the Dementor was frozen, mouth open in anticipation of its feast.

Time stood still, and Harry's soul was frozen, motionless in the air above the body it had so recently occupied.

Time stood still, and the battlefield was frozen, every mortal motionless as the sands of time paused.

A pale white light shimmered silently in the air before the frozen elves, and a figure emerged. He was translucent, incorporeal, but power still radiated around him. A silver breastplate adorned his chest, and his stance was that of a warrior, one of supreme confidence and infinite strength.

His eyes slowly drifted across the battlefield, taking in the bodies of the fallen elves. His eyes watered, a tear slowly running down his cheek as he mourned the passing of his children. He could not save them. Their spirits had already passed into Atara's loving embrace. His eyes continued to roam, and he spotted a fallen unicorn, one of the brave steeds that had carried the elves to battle. It still lived, despite a near-mortal wound. He smiled at the noble creature, and a moment later, its wounds were healed, leaving it weak from blood-loss, but alive.

He turned, and beheld the purpose for his presence there.

"Warrior's soul," he whispered, as he looked at the shining light above the frozen Elf.

He reached out, and touched it lightly. It awakened at his touch, pulsating briefly as it recognized him. He paused. Something was oddly...familiar about this soul. There was something about it-but he couldn't place it.

"Now is not your time," He spoke, his voice comforting and reassuring.

It flared briefly, and he smiled.

"Worry not about them, they are inconsequential" he said, gesturing to the vampires and the dementor. "Nor should you worry for her," he continued, pointing at Ginny, and the soul flared briefly again.

"Return now," he urged. "Trust me."

He nodded encouragement as the shimmering light seemed to hesitate, before darting back into the elf's frozen body.

Adaron smiled.

Next he looked towards the forest, his keen sight piercing through the forest, finding the approaching war party, frozen in place. He smiled mischievously and suddenly, for them, time seemed to flow normally. When, eventually, time returned to normal outside of the small bubble that encompassed them, moving with them as they rode, they would find themselves much closer to the battle then they had thought.

And Adaron smiled once more.

He walked around the frozen elf, and looked down at him.

"You are noble, young one," he whispered, looking briefly at Ginny, then back. "To sacrifice yourself, in such a manner, so that another may live. A selfless act. A _just_ act."

He stood, looking at the force of elves, surrounded and outmatched, who had nevertheless charged forth, to do what was right.

He nodded to himself. "You have shown courage beyond your years. The Sindalion would have been well served by one such as you. Perhaps he may still, but that is not of import this moment."

He reached down, placing a hand upon the elf's brow, and reached inside, into the very essence of the elf's being. There, he found what he sought, the strength stored deep within all elves, waiting to be given the power to take form, however temporarily. With a smile, Adaron, the only one who could, gave it that power.

"Now arise, my blessed one," He whispered, "become what you are meant to be. Become my Avatar, that you may mete my justice."

With that, he faded away.

And the sands of time flowed once more.

_It was only as his soul was sucked from his body and he sagged lifeless in the grip of the vampires that his eyes dimmed and dropped away._

It happened so fast any who blinked would have missed it entirely. One moment, Harry's head had fallen forward, and the bright shining light of his soul hovered above him. The next, the shining light of his soul was gone from the air, and his head was up again, eyes wide and shining with silver light so bright it threatened to blind any who beheld them.

His arms flung back, tossing the vampires who had held him fifty feet through the air, before they landed with a sickening crunch on the unforgiving ground.

He slowly got to his feet, as the glow in his eyes spread, encompassing his whole body. His wings burst forth from his back, but where once they were white with golden tips, now they shone a pure, brilliant silver and as they moved they trailed rainbows and twinkling starlight.

His wings began to beat, almost involuntarily, lifting him several feet from the ground. The gleaming light flared around his brightly, surrounding his entire body, and everyone looking at him had to turn away from the brilliant light.

When the light faded, those who beheld him were stunned. It wasn't the fact that he was still technically glowing, a pale silver light glowing faintly around him. It wasn't the glowing silver breastplate that had materialized on his chest, nor was it the sword in his hand, that glowed a brilliant white, and trailed sparkling stars behind it as it moved.

It wasn't even the fact that he had gotten several feet taller, and now looked to have gained enough muscle to put a giant to shame.

It was the pure power that radiated from him, and the supreme confidence in the way he stood, the way he held himself.

His eyes, deep wells of pure silver light, looked at Voldemort, and the Dark Lord knew fear.

Pagebreak-

"Would someone explain to me WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?" Ron blurted out, staring in extreme confusion at Harry.

"Oroste d'Andaron," Olvyn whispered in awe. "Avatar of Justice."

"What?" Sirius asked, still staring somewhat wide eyed at his godson.

"Its said that an elf who sacrifices himself for a greater cause, such as love, in a totally selfless act...that they are blessed," James stammered. "Its supposedly something that lurks within all of us, the ability to become the avatar. But...its not happened in milennia. It was practically a myth..."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Because...because supposedly, it requires a great deal of power to make the transformation," he whispered, looking down at his son in awe. "More power then any one mortal has ever had."

"Then who-" Dumbledore began, before pausing, eyes widening. "My god..."

"Yup," James said, nodding. "Pretty much."

Pagebreak-

Ginny smirked over at Voldemort when Harry turned his glowing eyes upon him.

"I don't think he likes you very much," she said, smiling faintly. "And he looks considerably angry."

Voldemort backed up a few steps, before screaming for his army to attack.

"Get her back behind the line." Voldemort hissed to the vampire holding her. "Then kill her. Slowly."

The vampire grinned ferally, and before she could scream out, he began to drag her back, while the vampires and death eaters around him rushed forward to attack.

Pagebreak-

A giant charged towards him. He charged back, fearless, leaping forward, his wings giving him extra lift. He moved with startling speed, stabbing his sword into the giant's neck lightning fast, before landing smoothly. The giant looked stunned for a moment, before slowly crumpling to the ground. A barrage of curses rushed towards Harry's chest, but bounced of his gleaming armour, rebounding back on their casters, some of whom didn't duck away in time, and were struck down by their own spells.

Pagebreak-

"Bloody hell," Remus breathed. "He's..."

"Kicking ass?" Sirius supplied.

Remus nodded. "Ya...that works."

Pagebreak-

The Avatar, and everyone watching had a hard time calling it Harry for it attacked with a mindless fury and what looked like an expression of boredom on its face, tore through the enemy ranks, his sword cleaving through vampires with terrible ease.

The Death Eaters found their curses useless. Those that didn't reflect off his armour seemed to be absorbed before they touched his skin.

The avatar fought through the enemy, cutting a path straight towards the Dark Lord. Voldemort, realizing that he was the focus of its attention, quickly fell back, putting as much space between the himself and the elf. His servants continually threw themselves in the way, but the avatar was relentless, driving through the enemy, endlessly pursuing the one who radiated the most darkness.

"Stop him!" Voldemort cried, stumbling backward as the avatar closed in. He'd seen the ease with which it brushed aside curses, and it terrified him. Unfortunately for him, everyone else had seen the same thing, and a path was opening directly between them, as vampires and Death Eaters fought to get out of its way.

"You have been judged." The avatar yelled, voice full of power and strength. His blade slashed out, and Voldemort only barely managed to stumble back out of its reach.

Pagebreak-

"I get the feeling Voldie's having a bad day all of a sudden," Sirius said, grinning widely.

"Ya," Ron agreed. "But where's Ginny?"

Sirius' grin slowly faded as they realized that Ginny was still in danger.

"There she is!" Hermioine pointed, to the rear of the enemy line. "Oh no..."

Pagebreak-

"Your boyfriend can't save you now, bitch." The vampire hissed, as he dragged her to the edge of the forest, about twenty yards behind the rear of the enemy line, despite her struggles to break free.

"Harry will kill you," she replied simply.

"He might," the vampire agreed, nodding. "But you won't live to see it."

The vampire twisted her head to the side, bearing her neck, and with a cruel grin, jerked his head down, to bury his fangs into her neck.

Pagebreak-

Voldemort stumbled backward, barely avoiding another swing of that vicious sword. He cursed at the vampires, for they had failed him. He cursed at his death eaters, for they too had failed him.

"Justice has come for you." The glowing figure cried, as it swung once more, and this time Voldemort knew he wouldn't be able to dodge aside in time.

Screaming in anger and frustration, he activated his emergency portkey, and fled the battle.

Less then a second later, the shining sword of the Avatar of Justice buried itself in the ground where he had been.

"Coward!" The avatar cried, as it wrenched its sword from the ground. It had failed. Judgement had been passed, but Justice had not been done.

It felt something then, that tugging that drew its attention once more towards the forest.

There...the elf. He felt something...a connection to her. He could not remember what. She was in danger...he could tell that easily-but there was no way he could reach her in time. The blow was already being struck.

Then his eyes, still shining brilliantly, focused on something behind her, and he smiled and turned away.

He was not needed there, and there were still numerous enemies upon the field.

Pagebreak-

Ginny tensed, closing her eyes, anticipating at any moment to feel the searing pain of the vampire's bite ... but it never came.

Her eyes opened as she felt the grip on her head loosen, and she half turned, eyes widening in surprise as the vampire fell to the ground beside her, an arrow visible in his back, buried deep into its black heart.

She looked towards the forest in shock, and almost sobbed in relief as she saw Allia ride out, not looking the least bit concerned at the mass of enemies that still stood on the field, and were even now turning, spotting the lone pair of elves who apparently stood between them and their escape.

"You look like you could use some help," Allia said, as she rode forward, stopping beside Ginny, Warwick pawing the ground in anticipation.

"Umm," Ginny said, swallowing nervously, "I think the odds are a bit uneven aren't they?"

Allia smiled, and looked down at her, eyes twinkling mysteriously.

"Of course they are," Allia answered. "They would need at least twice their number to have a chance!"

Just then, a horn call rang from the castle, and Ginny could almost swear she heard disbelief and wonder in the sound.

Allia looked up and laughed.

"Stay close to me Ginny. They'll be coming in hard." Allia said, and she raised her horn to her lips, and gave a tremendous blast, the sound echoing through the air.

Then the air was filled with the braying of trumpets, as a line of riders burst from the tree line, over three hundred mount elves charging forth, flowing past Allia and Ginny, to crash into the already wavering lines of the enemy.

Arrows arched over head, passing over the line of clashing cavalry, to fall amidst the enemy, cutting down countless foes.

"So here's a question," Allia began, as a line of infantry moved from the forest to their left, moving into flanking position.

"Hmm?" Ginny asked, still somewhat stunned by the sudden reinforcements.

"Who is that, and what has he done with Harry?" Allia asked.

Pagebreak-

The dark army, already in disarray, and without their Lord to order them, quickly fell apart in the face of the superior elven forces.

They broke, fleeing. Some, those lucky enough to have been deemed worthy of portkeys, used them, fleeing the battle.

However they were a select few. The elven cavalry proved quite efficient in running down fleeing foes, and the line of infantry proved to be too solid a wall for the enemy to break through, blocking all escape into the forest.

Several remaining giants tried to keep up the fight, but faced against the superior speed and agility of the elven cavalry, they were quickly felled.

A group of Death Eaters tried to flee along the shoreline of the lake, but were quickly spotted by the elven archers, who wasted no time in sweeping the beach with arrows.

A pack of Vampires even tried to flee toward the school. This was beyond a doubt a mistake, as Olyvn, seeing that it was no longer necessary to hold up the extra wards, let them fall.

The vampires were struck down by bolts of blue energy, as the powerful mage struck out with his battle magics.

It wasn't long before the only remaining enemies were being rounded up by mounted groups of elves, and Ginny turned her attention once more to the glowing figure that...had...been Harry.

Ginny approached, to where he was standing still in the centre of the bloodstained battlefield. He looked down at her.

"I failed," his voice said, and there was a hint of weakness in it now. The glow around him seemed softer now.

Ginny shook her head. "No, you didn't. You won."

"But-but he escaped."

"But his army was defeated Harry." She said, smiling at him. "You won."

"I know you,"he said, but a confused look was on his face.

She nodded again. "Yes...its me...Ginny. Remember?"

"I-I think so?" He answered questioningly.

She sighed. She didn't know quite what exactly was wrong with him, but she had an idea as to how to fix it.

Looking square at him, she repeated what he had done earlier, and send all her love and feelings through their bond. She also sent the echoes of what she had felt from him.

His eyes widened for a moment, before the light around him flared up once more, pulsating brightly, before vanishing.

Gone was the Avatar, and all that was left was Harry.

"Ginny?" He asked, eyes somewhat unfocused, wobbling slightly.

She nodded, tears of joy running down her face.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I haven't a clue," she answered truthfully.

"Oh...okay," he said, nodding. "Ginny?"

"Hmm?"

He looked at her, and smiled slightly. "I think I'm going to pass out now, if you don't mind," and he collapsed.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Years Ending**

Voices reluctantly began to filter into Harry's brain, as it slowly brushed aside the fog of sleep.

"Its been two weeks! Why hasn't he woken up?" That sounded like Ron...but two weeks? That couldn't be right.

"Melnan said it was extreme exhaustion, both magical and physical...there's no telling how long he'll be out," that was his father.

He could barely suppress a sigh as he heard other voices, whispering quietly amongst themselves. Great...it sounded like the whole bloody school was there. He really did not want to have to answer that many questions as soon as he woke up.

"Ginny, you need to get some sleep. He's not going anywhere, and you aren't doing yourself any good like this," Hermione's voice said.

Harry frowned mentally. Ginny wasn't sleeping?

"I'm fine Hermione, you worry too much," came Ginny's voice, and it did indeed sound tired. "Besides, I-"

Ginny paused suddenly.

"What?" Hermione asked, concern evident in her voice.

Suddenly Ginny continued, but now her voice had an obvious edge to it.

"When he wakes up, I want the first thing he sees to be me slapping him for being so incredibly STUPID!" She said.

'_Uh oh...' _Harry thought. '_She does not sound happy.'_

"You do that," Hermione said. "But Ginny, don't forget. You have to study for your OWLs. They start tomorrow."

"I know Hermione, I know," Ginny replied. "It's dinner time. I assume you're all going?"

"Ya," Ron replied. "You coming?"

"No," Ginny answered, shaking her head. "I think I'll wait here."

Harry heard the sounds of everyone else leaving the room, and felt Ginny lean into the bed from her chair.

"You can open your eyes Mr. Potter, I know you're awake." Ginny said.

Harry peaked open one eye, and looked to see her staring intently at him.

"Err...hey Gin," he said weakly.

"Hey Gin? HEY GIN?" she said angrily. "You're out for two weeks for doing something incredibly noble and incredibly stupid, and all you can say is 'hey Gin'?"

"Err...I love you?" He said nervously.

Ginny glared at him for a moment, then Harry could see the anger drain out of her.

"Dammit," she muttered. "That's cheating."

He laughed softly, looking at her tenderly.

"How'd you know I was awake anyway?" he asked.

She looked at him as if he were stupid for a minute, before he heard her voice in his head.

"_We're bonded remember? I knew fairly quickly,"_ she sent.

He had the decency to blush.

"Oh ya...right," he said sheepishly.

"Idiot," she said teasingly.

"I am not an idiot," he blurted out.

"No, you're just a noble, selfless twit," she replied, looking up at him, her eyes darkening slightly.

He flinched. "Ginny, I-"

"Do you know what it felt like?" She asked softly. "When you...weren't there. It was brief, I know, but- but in that moment I had no desire to live. All I knew was a searing pain deep inside myself, like...like my soul had been torn in half. I wanted to die, I wanted to go with you,"

Harry paled, tears in his eyes, as she broke his gaze, looking down at her feet.

"Oh gods Gin, I-"

"Why?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"I- I can't live without you Gin," he answered.

She looked up slowly, memories of pain and sorrow in her eyes.

"What makes you think I could live without you?" She replied in a whisper.

Harry paled, feeling suddenly very guilty.

"In that instant, I knew. Had you gone, I would have died." She continued. "I swear Harry, here and now. I will follow you anywhere, even unto death."

"Ginny, I'm so sorry," Harry stammered, sitting up slightly, and caressing her cheek softly.

She took his hand gently, and held it.

"Just don't do anything stupid again. We're in this together," she whispered.

Harry smiled, nodding, and suddenly his eyelids felt heavy again, and he fell back to sleep as she held his hand tight.

**PAGEBREAK–**

Harry woke again, his eyes slowly opening, and he was saddened to note by the colour of the hair, that the person in the chair beside his wasn't Ginny.

"Bout time you woke up again," Evelyn said, looking up from her book.

Harry groaned. "What are you doing here"

"Is that anyway to talk to your favourite cousin?" She asked, insulted.

"Only cousin," he replied, in a tone that implied they'd had this conversation before.

"So what? Anyway, Ginny had to go write some tests," she said, shrugging. "Someone had to be here in case you woke up, to tell you to drink this," she handed him a potion bottle.

He eyed the bottle warily. "Does it taste bad?"

"Probably," she said, grinning wickedly.

"Twit," he muttered, as he downed the potion. "Blech, that is awful, what potion was it?"

"Who said it was a potion?" She asked innocently.

He looked at her, and sighed.

"That was just mean," he grumbled.

"Thanks!" She laughed, and went back to looking thoughtfully at her book.

He sighed, sitting back against his pillow. He looked at the book she was reading; it looked old, very old.

"What are you reading?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"It's a book of riddles," she said, passing it to him. "Its neat."

He looked at it, and was confused to find that it could only be opened to one page, right near the beginning.

"It's enchanted. You can only turn to the next page when you get the riddle correct. It said on the first page that answering the final riddle gives a reward!" she said excitedly.

He smiled at her enthusiasm, and looked at the riddle it was open to.

'_Glittering points_

_That downward thrust,_

_Sparkling spears_

_That never rust._'

He thought about it for a moment, before smiling in understanding.

"Icicles," he said, looking over at Evelyn.

The book suddenly glowed brightly, and the page turned.

"That means you got it right!" Evelyn said happily.

"Interesting, where did you get this? It looks mighty old," he asked.

"I was exploring down in the dungeons. I found it in an old dusty room. Looked like no one had been down there in ages." She answered.

"I also found this one," she continued, holding up another book. "I couldn't read it though."

He laughed as he handed her back the riddle book.

"So you just carry it around for no reason?"

She made a face at him, and passed it to him. "No, I just thought if anyone could read it, it would be you, so I brought it."

"Thanks, I think," he said, taking it and opening it to the first page.

"It's a diary from the looks of it. Written in the same language as some of the oldest histories in the library at the palace. That room must have sealed for ages." he told her, and started to read it to himself.

'_The Diary of Elrym Daelendry._

_On this day, the 5th of the 2nd Moon, Of the second year of the Golden Lord's reign._

_He has come! The Golden Lord himself, come back to Dalandrin! The royal banner flies above the centre of the encampment outside the fortress, the green and gold banners flapping proudly in the breeze. Our lord has chosen me to deliver his welcome to the High King, and extend his invitation to feast. It is an honour._

_On this day, the 6th of the 2nd Moon, Of the second year of the Golden Lord's reign._

_I was challenged three times before I even made it to the centre of the High King's camp. They seem to be taking no chances on allowing another assassin through. Challenged again I was, at the King's tent, by members of his own unit. To say they were intimidating would be an understatement. Their skills are legendary. _

_At last I was admitted into the chamber where the High King and his Queen were studying over a map. Their presence was humbling, yet they were friendly beyond doubt, and accepted my lord's invitation with apparent pleasure. _

_It is said they ride out with the rising of the sun tomorrow, heading to the south-east, to challenge our enemies seizing of one of the southern provinces. I know that they cannot fail! The Golden Lord shall emerge victorious once more! Glory to the Light!_

Harry read a few more pages, but they seemed to be nothing more then daily workings within a castle. Sighing, he put the book down on the table beside his bed. From the sound of it, this 'Golden Lord' had been the High King at the time of the Vanishing. He been mentioned in the few other books from that time that were still legible. Supposedly a warrior-mage of great skill, he had led the Cohort of the Light to victory over their ancient enemies.

'_Harry?' _He heard Ginny's voice in his head.

'_Ya?"_ He sent back, not knowing where she was, or what she was doing.

'_What's the Boggart Banishing spell?' _She asked him.

'_Riddikulus' _Heanswered. '_Didn't you learn that in Third Year?'_

'_Nope,' _came her reply. '_You may have been lucky to have Professor Moony, but we had the fake Mad-Eye remember? He was too busy yelling CONSTANT VIGILANCE, and warning us how many clumsy people have blown their buttocks off with their wands to go over such 'simple' things as Boggarts.'_

Harry laughed to himself, then remembered something.

'_Wait...why are you asking?' _He asked, suddenly suspicious.

'_No reason' _she sent back, but Harry could feel her almost giggling to herself.

'_This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you're taking OWLs today would it?' _He sent.

'_Maybe,' _she replied innocently. '_But it's your fault I wasn't able to study anyway, so you can't go getting all mad about it! Besides...you don't want me to fail do you?'_

He laughed. '_Just don't get caught dear!'_

**PAGEBREAK–**

That night, Harry slept soundly, Ginny once more asleep in the chair beside him, and the Hospital Wing was silent. His was the only bed occupied, after so many weeks, the rest of the injured having long since left.

The door creaked open, as a dark figure entered quietly. It watched the sleeping elves for a moment, before nodding to itself.

The Stone Oracle's prophecies were coming true, the Watcher knew. Events were moving quickly now, rushing towards what was soon to come. They were ready however. Long had they known of what was to come, and long had they worked to prepare themselves. When the call came, they would fulfil the Oath their grandfathers had sworn, on a long forgotten field.

He saw the book that sat on the elf's side table. Good. If it was there, the other would have been found as well.

The Watcher saw a flicker briefly, and raised his arm before him. It would seem his disguise was once more beginning to wane. Gone was the frail, elderly limb that had been there moments before. In its place was the thick, burly arm of a warrior.

Grumbling to himself, he drew a rune in the air before him, and felt its power slowly work its magic, shifting his form back to the one he assumed whilst on duty. He had held the duty of Watcher for over three decades now, and in that time had only needed to renew his disguise twice.

He strode purposely from the room then, grinning in eager anticipation. Soon, he knew. Soon the drums would beat once more, and those who had Watched for so long would march. His fist clenched in excitement, and he pounded it to his chest once, before thrusting it forward in silent salute.

**PAGEBREAK–**

"Harry, there's something you need to know," Ginny began, the next morning when they had both woken up. "About- about how he got me."

Harry looked up, suddenly all ears.

"It was Draco-" she started.

"I'll kill him!" Harry said instantly, preparing to get out of bed.

"No Harry, you can't," Ginny said, stopping him by putting a hand on his chest and holding him down. "He vanished during the battle.

"I'll hunt him down, then kill him," Harry said angrily.

"That's not the problem Harry," she said, continuing. "He'd used Imperio on Cedric to get him to lure me out."

"What?" Harry asked, stunned.

"Harry - Cedric's dead." She said sadly.

"What? How?" He asked, horrified.

"He used a portkey to get me outside the walls. Then Voldemort said something about 'staying dead this time,' and threw him to the vampires. They killed him." She told him.

"Dammit," Harry said, instantly feeling guilty once more over Cedric's death. "I will kill you Voldemort, I swear it."

"And I swear to be by your side when you do it my love," Ginny said, grim determination in both their eyes.

**PAGEBREAK–**

Ever cursed by the imps of the perverse, Harry's release from the Hospital came on the day of the Leaving Feast. He'd hoped in some ways to be able to avoid it, knowing that there would be no way he would be able to avoid the lime-light.

"There gonna make a big deal out of it all aren't they?" He asked Ginny, as they made their way down to the Great Hall.

"Hmm...lets see. You single-handedly defeated a large portion of the Dark Lord's forces, and miraculously managed to summon an army in the nick of time to defeat the rest and save the castle from certain destruction. Nope, can't imagine they'd make a big deal of it at all," She teased.

Swallowing nervously, Harry pushed open the door, and entered the Great Hall.

His ears were immediately assailed by the sound of loud cheers, clapping hands, and stomping feet.

Harry saw his father and Allia standing below the Head Table, dressed in full formal uniform, his father holding a small box before him.

'Oh no,' Harry thought. He had a feeling he knew what they were doing.

Setting his shoulders, he walked steadily forward, ignoring the cheering students, and the few non-cheering Slytherins, as he approached his father and stood before him.

"Emrys Aethi Caldarain, Prince of the Blood," his father began, looking proudly at his son. Harry swore inwardly. They'd promised not to do this dammit! "You are obviously favoured by the Light, or what took place upon the field could not have happened. You have proven yourself, Warrior, Victor, Savior. As such, the High Council formally recognizes you as the one spoken in the Prophecy, and name you Champion of the Light. In the King's name, I give unto you the Horn of the last High King, who led the Light in victory against our ancient foes. His horn united all who heard it in defense of the Light. We give it now to you, that you may be its protector, until such time as its call is needed once more, should the Darkness once more threaten this world."

His father opened the box, and pulled forth a golden chain, upon which hung a battle horn, inlaid with gold in the pattern of flames. Of course, the horn was only a replica, the original lost in the Vanishing, but it had long been a symbolic relic nonetheless.

Harry knelt, bowing his head, as his father put the horn about his neck. He nodded to his father, and to Allia, before standing once more, and turning to face the assembled students, and the line of elves who stood at attention against the walls.

"Always remember," he said, as silence settled across the hall, eager to hear his words. "That no matter how dark the sky, how bleak the forecast, there is always Light. Even if you cannot see it, it is there. Trust in the Light, and fear no darkness!"

Cheering broke out again, punctuated by the rhythmic banging of Elven swords on breastplates, as they saluted their Champion.

'_That was kind of cheesy you know,' _Ginny said silently.

'_Hey, they liked it didn't they?' _He send back, sending her a brief look of annoyance.

'_Harry, you could have said 'Woo, go us!' and they would have cheered. Honestly, if you're going to be doing this sort of thing a lot, we need to get you a speech-writer.'_

Harry couldn't resist the urge to laugh, so he instead pulled her up beside him, and pulled her into a deep kiss to the further cheers of those assembled.

**PAGEBREAK–**

The sun rose early the next day, much to the annoyance of those who had celebrated perhaps a bit too hard. They all knew that Voldemort was still out there, but he had been handed a major defeat, and now everyone's confidence was soaring.

Harry and Ginny would be going with the rest down to the train station, but would be going from there to Potter Manor. Harry's parents had seen to getting it fixed up, and now it awaited their return. It had taken some convincing to get Mrs. Weasley to let Ginny go, but she had accepted after Harry had invited the entire Weasley clan to come and stay later in the summer. Sirius, who had absolutely no desire whatsoever to return to Grimmauld Place, and Remus would also be moving in. Allia and the Elven garrison would remain at the school, in case any remaining Death Eaters thought to try to seize it while it was for the most part empty for the summer. Evelyn would be going home for the summer.

"Harry, you coming mate?" Ron called, sticking his head out the window of the carriage, and calling to his friend. "The rest of the carriages are starting to leave."

Nodding quickly, Harry waved farewell to Allia, and pulled open the door to the carriage, taking a seat next to Ginny as the Thestrals pulling the carriage began to move.

The carriage was just about to turn down the road to Hogsmede and the train station, when Harry glanced back at the castle one last time before it went out of sight.

And suddenly his vision flashed, flaring white briefly, then returning but drained of colour.

_He saw crumbled rock and flames, all that remained of the Elven wing of the castle. A sea of shadow writhed all around the castle, unstopped by the too-few defenses._

_He saw the burnt, blackened gate, torn off its hinges, laying on the ground as dark shadows swirled around it._

_He saw his father, shouting, rallying other elves around him and brandishing a blade, fighting in the entrance hall, striking out at the dark shadows. _

_He saw a spear of inky blackness strike out, piercing his father's chest, and watched as his father fell, to be swept under as the wave of darkness washed over the_ _defenders._

_He saw the darkness sweep through the halls of the school, and his ears rang with the screams of the dying._

"HARRY!" He heard a voice yell, and was jolted back to himself. "Are you okay mate? You kinda went...wonky for a second there."

He nodded quickly, swallowing nervously, as one thought resounded through his head, and he knew it to be true.

The war was far from over.


	29. Epilogue

**Here is what WAS going to be the Epilogue to Return of the High Elves, before someone decided to complain about my responding to reviews. I may re-upload it later...I dunno. Don't know if I'll have the heart anymore. My inspiration suddenly collapsed.**

**Here it is. Enjoy. Hopefully it won't get deleted for this short note.  
**

**Epilogue**

Harry walked out onto the balcony outside the room he shared with Ginny, clad only in a pair of loose trousers, and leaned against the railing looking out into the forest below. Potter Manor sat at the crest of a small valley, overlooking the village of Godric's Hollow on one side, and a forest on the other.

He sighed as he watched a pair of sparrows flitter about in the moonlight, darting in and out among the treetops. They led such simple lives, unaware of the world-altering events that took place around them. He envied their freedom.

"Are you still moping?" Came Ginny's voice, as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "Honestly, I told you. You look quite dashing and handsome like that."

He smiled faintly at her, pulling her around so that she was in front of him, and pulling her against him. She leaned back, nestling her head against his shoulder as she idly watched the pair of sparrows' airborne dance.

"What I would like to know," he said quietly, loving the feel of her against him, "is which of the so called 'adults' in this household it was slipped that into my food. For that matter, I would also like to know how they knew Fred and George had even made such a thing. Honestly, your brother's have too much time on their hands."

She smirked, leaning her head back and looking up at him innocently.

"What makes you think it was one of them? I told you last time...I do so like your hair that colour." she said, smiling.

He looked down at her in surprise, before stealing a quick kiss.

"I'll let you get away with it this time. But I swear, the next person who turns my hair blonde will find themselves enjoying first-hand the exciting and adventurous life of a rock."

The sound of her laughter brought a smile to his face again, and he pulled her tighter to him, wrapping his arms around her, as they stood together and watched the birds flitting about below them.

**

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**  
Adaron watched the young elf stride out onto the balcony, and was again struck with the unfailing sense that he _knew _this elf. He couldn't understand it, the strange familiarity he felt coming from the young lord, but it was there, he could not deny it.

He smiled as he saw the interaction between the two, and smiled as he felt Atara's own blessing upon them. Her blessing was the Lifebond, that would eternally bind them together. Two souls forever joined.

His mind was still nagging with the ever increasing feeling that he was missing something, when the words spoken by the young lord reached his ears.

"_...enjoying first-hand the exciting and adventurous life of a rock."_

Adaron froze, the all-too-familiar words ringing through his brain, and suddenly something seemed to fall into place.

"Impossible," he whispered to himself, his eyes now studying the pair intently, taking in every nuance of their interaction. The way they held each other, serene and peaceful, as they looked out below them. The way he leaned his head forward and whispered in her ear, and her face lit up in laughter. It all seemed to scream in his mind, forcing him to see what he hadn't before.

"It cannot be," he said again, louder this time, attracting Atara's attention.

'What cannot be?" she asked, moving to stand next to him, looking down and smiling at the love she beheld in the elven couple.

"Look at them Atara," he said urgently. "Look at the way they interact. The way he holds her, the way they practically seem to glow with peace and serenity, and yet at the same time, undeniable strength."

She glanced down briefly, nodding in agreement, before looking up at him, still unsure. Their eyes met, and in that moment, the knowledge of what he sensed entered her, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"That's not possible Adaron, we'd have known!" She exclaimed, for the first time in her very very long life shocked beyond belief.

He laughed softly, a fierce grin breaking out across his face.

"Who would be the only ones capable of hiding anything from us?" He asked triumphantly.

"Nobody, except possibly-NO!" She said, eyes widening again in realization.

"Aye. Ourselves," He nodded to her. "We were worried we'd not have the power to do what needed to be done. I suddenly think that won't be a problem anymore."

She smiled as well then, as the troubling problem that had been their bane of their recent planning resolved itself.

"I do believe your right."

**

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**  
While the Champion of the Light stood peaceful and content upon the balcony of Potter Manor, his enemy paced angrily through the halls of Azkaban.

He screamed in rage, lashing out in anger at any foolish Death Eaters who tried to approach him.

It was Potter's fault! He didn't know how the meddlesome boy had done what he had, and that only served to fuel his anger to even greater heights.

He would kill the insolent boy. He would torture, main, crush him. He would make him suffer for all the trouble he had caused, only then giving him a painful death.

He just needed to figure out how.

He shoved the doors to the Azkaban library open, and strode in. All the books on dark magics he had ever had were now held within this room. If the answer he sought wasn't here, it would be nowhere.

He was about to grab up the nearest book,_ Cruel Curses, _when he heard it.

An echoing, cruel laughter coming from a dark corner of the room.

It was coming from a book, he saw. The laughter came from an animated skull that adorned the cover, baleful red eyes burning in its sockets.

He knew every book in his collection, had studied them all at some time, and knew that this one was most definitely not one of his.

Cautiously, he picked it up, eyeing it carefully as the laughter stopped, and the glowing eyes surveyed him.

"Yesssss," the skull hissed, "a dark soul you have. A desire for death, destruction. You are worthy,"

The Dark Lord's hand shook in cruel anticipation as he carefully opened the book, and read the words burned into the first page, which looked to be made out of cured human skin.

An insane grin spread across Voldemort's face, and he practically trembled, for the words on the page filled him with an evil glee.

_The Nekmari - The Chosen of Darkness

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**Review Responses: ** Nope. Cause I apparently aren't allowed to give feedback on questions asked in reviews._  
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